The Moon's Daughter
by KatherineGrace79
Summary: Au.Eve Lupin becomes inadvertantly tangled in her father's past. When her father's ex-best friend escapes from Azkaban prison, Eve must deal with the changes that come with it. School, Quidditch, a confusing boyrfriend and a murderer. What could go wrong?
1. Chapter 1

Prologue Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. Anything that you do recognise belongs to JK Rowling. Prologue

Remus Lupin stared blankly at the piece of parchment that he held in his hands, sitting at the kitchen table in his parents old home – now his home – re-reading the words that Professor Albus Dumbledore had written to him. He felt as though his heart, which had healed tentatively over the years, had been torn apart, stamped on and then plunged into a vat of icy water, his stomach hollowed out. Some days, he never even thought about his old friend who had betrayed them all, other days he couldn't stop thinking about him, throwing old arguments around in his mind, making him feel sick. His honey brown eyes re-read the single line that had made him cold.

…_Sirius Black has escaped…_

He dropped the letter onto the table and buried his face in his hands, gripping his hair tightly between his fingers. He could still see Sirius Black as clear as day in his mind. His handsome face, dark hair falling over his laughing blue eyes, the feel of his hand on his shoulder as he clapped him on the back in a brotherly manner, his bark like laughter…his stomach gave an uneasy jolt and he pressed the back of his hand over his mouth to prevent himself from throwing up, squeezing his eyes shut. No one had ever been able to escape from Azkaban before but his old friend had always been able to achieve what seemed to be the impossible.

He hadn't seen Sirius Black in twelve years, since the morning of Halloween 1981, where he had shouted over his shoulder for him to tidy up the flat they shared before disappearing off to one of the many jobs that he had held down then. The next time that he had seen his flatmate, brother and best friend had been on the front cover of the Daily Prophet two days later, telling him of his lifetime imprisonment in Azkaban for the murder of thirteen Muggles and their other friend, Peter Pettigrew. Remus had never visited him in Azkaban, preferring to pretend to everyone else that he didn't exist. He couldn't lie to himself though. His eyes looked down to the letter again, another sentence leaping out to him.

…would like to offer you the position of Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher for the school year commencing this September…

The idea of a steady job for at least a year was something that Remus hadn't dared to dream off. Jobs were hard to come by for a sufferer of lycanthropy in the wizarding world and he regularly had to take jobs in the Muggle world that never lasted for more than two of three months as he had to take time off around each full moon. Money was a major issue for Remus and he had always had expenses that were far greater than the money that came in. If he accepted the job, he could live at Hogwarts, free of charge, have free meals and he would be able to save his wages for the first time in years. Dumbledore wanted him because of Sirius's Black escape. Who better to help guard the school than the person who had used to be his best friend?

He was tempted to take it but he didn't just have himself to think about. His eyes drifted up to the ceiling and he bit his bottom lip, the urge to see her overwhelming him. Leaving the letter on the table, he stood up and walked silently up the stairs, his footsteps quiet and careful, stepping over the noisy fourth step before walking down the narrow hallway, placing his hand over the doorknob into the room that he had decorated years ago. Pushing the door silently open, he peered inside and lingered in the doorway, staring at the occupant of the single bed, who was sleeping peacefully; unaware of everything that had just happened.

Eve.

His daughter.

She was the one precious thing in his life. She had healed him after his three best friends had died and he had realised the betrayal of the fourth. He had never believed that he would be able to have children due to his lycanthropy. There had never been any cases where a werewolf had parented a child, male or female. His daughter was unique. She wasn't a werewolf, something that he thanked everyday for; she had a slight case of anger when roused but that was normal, her strength however was not but that was the only side affect of having him for a father. She had werewolf strength all month round, increasing when she neared the full moon.

His daughter was beautiful. Wavy, rich brown hair; freckles splattered across her nose; high cheekbones and his honey brown eyes. She was all him, barely anything of her long-gone mother showed in her appearance or personality. He sat carefully down on the edge of her bed, affectionately brushing some of her soft hair from her face, behind her ear and she stirred delicately under his touch but stayed fast asleep. There were days that he couldn't believe he was a father in general and days were he couldn't believe that he was a father to a soon-to-be sixteen-year-old daughter.

She was born in the summer of 1977, unknown to him, to her mother – Penelope De Veux. He had met Penelope when he was eleven. They were in the same year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry but not in the same house. He had been a Gryffindor whilst Penelope had been a shy, pureblood Hufflepuff. They hadn't started to speak until their fifth year when they had been studying for their O.W.Ls and, after they had taken their exams, Remus had built up the courage to ask her out on a date, something that she had accepted with a heavy blush and a shy smile.

They had spent the summer together, barely out of each other's company, and he had lost his virginity to her in the field behind his parents home, in the field that now homed many sheep. They had carried their relationship into their sixth year at Hogwarts and, he had thought, been perfect, with the exception that he had yet to tell her about his affliction. He had told her before the Christmas holidays, fearful that she would leave him, as she had been acting distant since November.

Of course, he later found out that she had already discovered that she was pregnant at that time. When he had told her about his lycanthropy, she had been horrified and screamed for him to get away from her. When he had returned after a depressing Christmas with his parents, he had been informed that Penelope had been withdrawn from Hogwarts and sent to Beauxbatons. Too ashamed to speak to her or write a letter to her, he eventually stopped thinking and tormenting himself about his first girlfriend who had broken his heart, until she had turned up on his doorstep mere days after everything had, quite literally, hit the fan, carrying their daughter in her arms.

She was getting married and her fiancé refused to raise the daughter of a werewolf. Neither Remus nor Eve had seen or heard from Penelope since she had left her with her father. Having a child to care for and to love had given Remus a new lease of life and the broken, grief-stricken Remus that had opened the door to Penelope disappeared the moment that his daughter looked into his eyes, fat tears leaking down her cheeks, asking if he really was her daddy. Everything that he had ever known, cared for and wanted disappeared, as he became a father to his daughter. She was his life.

Eve never complained about their lack of finances but he hated not being able to provide her with new clothes when she needed them and he hated having to say no to her when he couldn't afford to buy her a broomstick. She was a talented Quidditch player and he knew that she enjoyed it, as she played Chaser on the Gryffindor House Team, and was very talented. She had only said that to decrease his guilt. He had struck lucky when he had discovered Eve as his daughter. He traced her elfin features and pulled his hand back when her eyelids fluttered and her eyes opened, staring up at him with sleepy confusion.

"Dad?" She asked, her voice heavily ladened with sleep, struggling to keep her eyes open. "Whasgoinon?"

"Nothing, sweetheart." He whispered softly, smoothing her hair back and leaning down, pressing a warm kiss to her temple, lingering. "Go back to sleep."

"You're weird." She mumbled before letting sleep claim her again, falling back into her heavy sleep.

Remus watched her sleep. Sirius would head for Hogwarts, or at least that was Dumbledore's belief, to seek out Harry Potter, the son of their dead best friend, James, to kill him and finish his master's work. Remus didn't dare think what would happen should he discover that he too had a child. If he accepted the offered work at Hogwarts then he could keep a safe eye on not only Eve but Harry as well. He touched his daughter's hair one last time before pulling her covers further up her body, tucking her in, in a move that he hadn't performed since she was eleven. He would accept the job, merely to help keep his daughter and Harry safe.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter One Chapter One

Eve Lupin pulled herself out of the azure, naturally formed pool that was near her home in Awliscombe in East Devon. She used her arms to pull herself smoothly up onto the rock that she dove off, sitting down on the hot mineral, water sliding off of her slim body and dripping from the end of her toes, which she wriggled as she wrung her long hair free of water. Her father had business to attend to at Hogwarts. She was excited that he would be teaching at her school in the upcoming year. Not many teenagers wanted their father near them, especially at their schools, but Eve wasn't like most teenagers and she loved her father. He was all the family that she had and she missed him during the months that she was at Hogwarts.

She had more family, somewhere, but her mother had abandoned her because of who her father was. She was sure that she had some half-brothers and half-sisters out there, sharing the same mother as she did, but she was in no hurry to find them or get to know them. As far as she was concerned, her father was the only parent that she would ever need. He had done a spectacular job of raising her by himself. He was all the family that she needed. She let her hair drop from her hands and pushed herself onto her bare feet, shielding her eyes against the hot, bright, summer sun, which slowly coloured her skin, bronzing it. She stretched her long body out and made to walk towards her belongings, which she had left by the side of the pool, only to find one of the largest dogs that she had ever see, lying on her towel. She raised her eyebrows at it in surprise.

The dog reminded her a bit of the Grim that Professor Trelawney was always insisting students would meet. It was huge with mangy looking black fur and a large snout. It was watching her with its head resting on crossed paws and she had to resist the urge to smile. She loved dogs but her father, for some reason, wasn't so keen on them. She found that strange as he always got on with animals, considering what he was. She walked towards the strange dog and crouched down, holding out her fist towards it cautiously, waiting for it to respond.

It sniffed her fist tentatively before nudging it with its snout and she smiled, opening her fist out and reaching up to stroke the top of its hot head, scratching behind its ears. For such a large dog, it was a friendly beast, licking at the underside of her forearm. It seemed to enjoy the attention. She gave it the once over with her honey brown eyes and noticed that it looked rather emaciated beneath its thick, matted fur. She sat down beside its head, letting it keep the towel, crossing her wet legs and reaching for the basket of food that she had brought with her, rummaging through it until she found a package of sandwiches, unwrapping them and offering one to the dog as she took one. It almost snapped her hand off in its eagerness to eat something, even if it was only corned beef. The poor thing looked so hungry that Eve lowered her unbitten sandwich from near her lips and held it out as an offering. Its long tongue curled around the sandwich, pulling it into its mouth.

"Didn't know corned beef could be so exciting." Eve commented in amusement to the dog, who nudged at her basket with a whimper and her face softened, rubbing the top of its head. "You really are hungry, aren't you?"

She rummaged through the basket and pulled out some more food, offering it all to the dog, who enjoyed it as though it were the greatest feast alive. She chuckled and lay down on the ground, closing her eyes as she let the sun dry her body. There was still a few weeks left of the summer holidays and she planned on making the most of it. She had no exams to worry about, having received her O.W.L results in the first month of the holidays, having received eleven O.W.Ls, all Os. Her father had been even more ecstatic than she had been, sweeping her up into his arms and letting out a delighted whoop! Thankfully, it had been in the privacy of their home. She loved him and he was a 'cool' dad as he was a young dad but he could be beyond embarrassing at times.

The dog stretched out next to her, seemingly satisfied with the impromptu meal that she had given him, resting his head on her bare stomach. When she laughed at its move, its head moved up and down. She hoped that it wouldn't leave a tan mark, as that would be hard to explain away. She dug her fingers into its scruff, yawning with her eyes closed, absently rubbing its skin beneath its hot fur. She could feel herself slowly succumb to the lure of the summer heat, falling into a light doze, her fingers stilling in the dogs fur, just resting there.

Once the dog was certain that she was asleep, he inched away from her body, cautious of waking her. With a smooth move, like watching a tree growing at speed, the dog transformed into a man. Sirius Black crouched over the sleeping girl, his long, matted hair scraping across the ground, his pale skin pulled so tightly across his face that it looked like the skin was stretched across a skull. His eyes were sunk deeply into his skull. He looked completely out of place next to the half naked, toned, bronzed young girl in his filthy, ragged prison robes. He prayed that she wouldn't wake up whilst he was leaning over her, searching for more food. He paused when his hand came across a bottle of Butterbeer and he looked down at the girl anxiously. She was a witch.

He sat down on the ground cross-legged, tearing into the food hungrily, watching her as she slept lightly. There was something familiar about her but he couldn't quite place it and he wasn't all that bothered. He had only stopped on his way to his old friend's home, wanting to see Remus Lupin one last time before heading north, because he had seen her in the water. Years ago, he would have been ashamed to admit that he had been watching a woman bathe in his animagus form without her knowledge but it had been so long since he had seen any woman, let alone a beautiful, half naked woman, such as the one before him. It wasn't as though he was going to touch her or anything.

Eating quickly, disturbed by his train of thought, he tidied up and transformed back into his animagus form, not wanting to linger in case he did anything that would have charges of molestation on top of his murder charges. He licked at her sleeping hand in thanks before trotting off up the deserted path, heading towards his old friend's house, a flutter of excitement inside him. He hadn't seen Remus Lupin in so long; he wondered what he looked like. He didn't even know if he lived there anymore but it was the only address that he remembered.

The house hadn't changed in the slightest. It still held that warm, comforting, homey charm that he remembered when he had spent the occasional week there with his friend and his parents. Sylvia Lupin had always kept the house smelling of freshly baked goods before she stuffed her son's friends full of them. He couldn't smell his friend's fresh scent in the house and he realised that Remus wasn't in. He circled the house, approaching the back door tentatively, nudging at it with his snout and relief filled him when it opened. Once he was inside the house, he transformed and headed straight for the refrigerator. More food couldn't hurt whilst he was waiting to catch a glimpse of his old friend.

Eve awoke with a start when a shadow fell across her body and she looked up to see her father standing above her. She draped an arm across her forehead, smiling up at him, holding up her hand so that he could pull her to her feet. He looked happier than she had seen him since the news of the escape from Azkaban had broken and he pulled her into a surprise hug, pressing her hot skin against the material of his clothes, kissing the top of her head.

"You're in a good mood." She observed with a smile, looking around curiously. The dog had disappeared. She reached for her floral dress and slipped it on over her head, sliding her feet into flip-flops and packing her belongings away.

"Just set the textbooks for the year ahead." He replied, smiling at her before removing a book from his bag, showing it to hers. "That's yours."

"Significantly better than Lockhart's." Eve informed him, looking down at the textbook. They both remembered the ridiculous amount of books that Professor Gilderoy Lockhart had set for her previous year, merely to promote his own books. They set off back towards their home. "What are you going to be teaching us?"

"Patronus charms, advanced defensive magic…" he replied with a vague, mysterious wave of his hand. "I finally saw what your previous teachers have been teaching you and with the exception of Professor Barnes, it's been appalling. How did you manage to get an O with Lockhart as your teacher?"

"Because I'm naturally intelligent me." She grinned and he snorted in amusement, slipping an arm around his daughter's shoulders, the ground crunching beneath their feet.

"What do you say we go out for dinner tonight?" He suggested and she looked up at him in surprise. They barely ever went out for dinner and only on very, _very_ special occasions.

"Can we afford that?" She asked, drawing her bottom lip between her white teeth, looking up at him with wide, concerned eyes.

"Let me worry about that, princess." He replied, kissing the top of her head again. "I want to take my beautiful daughter out for dinner on her birthday."

"I thought you'd forgotten!" She exclaimed in surprise but he just laughed, drawing her closer to his side, tugging on a lock of her damp hair affectionately.

"How on earth could I forget my daughter's sixteenth birthday?" Remus asked her good-naturedly with a broad smile on his face. "It's not everyday a man's daughter turns sixteen. I can't believe it. One more year and you're going to be an adult and in your last year at Hogwarts. I feel old."

"You look it." Eve replied cheekily and he let out a sound of mock-hurt, gently cuffing her around the back of her head before she rolled up onto her tiptoes and pressed a kiss to his cheek. "Only joking."

"Come on." He said, offering her his hand. "I've got a gift for you at home. Don't look so surprised." She quickly rearranged her facial features and smiled sheepishly. "It's not a lot but it's something."

"Now you've got me excited." She told him, picking up a jog and dragging him behind her, making him laugh.

They jogged up the steps into the home and she dropped herself down onto the sofa, waiting as he went to retrieve her present. She never expected anything for her birthdays, as she was well aware that they didn't have a lot of money but her father always surprised her with a present. Something special and something that meant a lot to her. It was never anything expensive but she kept them nonetheless as it had come from her father. She turned when she heard noise from the kitchen and her eyes caught sight of something moving through the kitchen. She rose out of instinct and headed towards the kitchen, frowning when she saw the back door was open. Closing it, she turned before screaming so loudly that the intruder in the kitchen shot forwards, covering her mouth with his filthy hand. Sirius Black had his hand over her mouth.

"Shut up!" He rasped, his voice hoarse and had a strangled quality to it, as though he hadn't used it in a long time.

His warning, or threat, came to late though as her father, who had been upstairs, had heard her scream of terror and dropped everything, defying gravity as he vaulted down the stairs and tore into the kitchen, his heart freezing and his blood running cold when he took in the scene before him. His daughter, his precious daughter, held hostage by Sirius Black, who looked as though he was struggled to keep hold of her fluid body. Her eyes were wide with fear and tears were staining her cheeks as she looked desperately towards him.

"YOU!" Remus roared, fear and anger coursing through him in equal measures. Black seemed surprised to see Remus before him. "Eve, Eve, look at me, it's okay. You're going to be okay."

Eve looked to her father and managed to nod. There was an agonisingly tense silence in the kitchen as her father looked to Black. His hand was painfully tight across her mouth and her waist, holding against his chest. She could feel his bones jutting out into her back. She moved her hand subtly, trying to get an advantage, making a mental note to always carry her wand on her person from that moment on. She had to think, for just a second. She knew that she could overpower him; it was just a matter of how. She had the advantage, with a strength he was unaware of, she tried to meet her father's eyes but he was focused on the man holding her hostage.

"Hello, Moony." Black rasped, startling her. He spoke with familiarity towards her father, who had never looked more furious. She could see the wolf rising up within him. "It's been a while."

"You want to talk? Fine." Remus replied in clipped, barely controlled tones. "But let Eve go first. She's done nothing so…just let her go."

"Who is she?" Black asked hoarsely, jerking her and her hand fell back into place. "She's a bit young. Ah, fuck!" Eve had managed to sink her teeth into his hand, biting down hard on the fleshly web between his thumb and index finger.

"I'm his daughter!" She snapped and she felt his body tense in surprise. "Now let go of me before I snap your neck!"

"Daughter?" Black croaked, eyes flicking towards her father. "She's…daughter? How?"

"Your mother didn't give you The Talk, did she?" Eve asked sarcastically, trying to elbow him in the stomach. "Get off me!"

"Who's her mother?" Black asked, his hands trembling. He seemed really surprised by the fact that Remus had a daughter.

"None of your damn business." Remus answered quietly, threat evident in his voice and Eve turned her eyes onto her father. Black glanced down at her.

"You must have met the mother at Hogwarts." Black replied musingly, eyeing the side of the face of her face that he could see. "How old is she?"

"Sixteen today, thank you." Eve said, annoyed, managing to slam her elbow into his stomach and his rancid breath flew from his lungs, heating up her ear and making her feel nauseous but his grip just tightened on her. "And you're ruining my birthday. LET GO OF ME!"

She stamped on his foot and managed to shake free of his arms. The moment that she was clear, her father raised his wand and a jet of red light shot from the end of his wand, Black barely managing to dodge just in time before he jerked open the back door. Remus tore past her and into the garden, sending spell after spell after the escaping criminal before the darkness swallowed him whole and he paused, breathing heavily before abruptly remembering his daughter and he ran back into the house. She was on the floor of the kitchen, touching her mouth tenderly where Sirius's fingers had left brilliant red marks on her face shaped like fingers. He knelt down next to her and she looked up at him, jerking her chin away from his hand.

"What the _hell_ was that?" Eve demanded angrily. "Did you enjoy your little conversation with him whilst I was held hostage? No need to concern yourself over my safety or anything. It wasn't as though a mass murderer had his hand across my mouth. Oh, wait! There was!"

"Eve…" Remus replied gently. "I'm sorry. Please, sweetheart, don't be angry with me. I just didn't want him to hurt you. As long as he was talking, he wouldn't think about hurt you."

"He spoke to you as though he knew you." She told him, leaning her back against the kitchen cabinet, trying to wipe the feeling of filth from her mouth. "He knew you well enough to comment on my similarity with you."

"We attended Hogwarts together, we were in the same year." He replied, searching for the first aid kit and opened it up, removing some bruise cream. She jerked her head away form his hand when he tried to apply the cream to her forming bruises, already becoming vivid marks.

"Don't insult my intelligence." She growled, her eyes flashing in anger. "I'm not thick, as you well know. You were friends with him. Well enough for him to be surprised that you had a daughter. Tell me the truth."

"Alright." He sighed, closing his eyes and moving so that he was sitting back against the cabinet next to her, wiping the cream from his fingertips onto his trousers. "Alright. The truth is that we were friends. We met when we were eleven on the Hogwarts Express and we became instant friends, along with James Potter and Peter Pettigrew. We were never seen without each other."

"Black was friends with James Potter?" Eve asked in horror. She knew that her father had been very good friends with the deceased Potters and he had told her that a man named Sirius Black had been the cause for their deaths but she had never known of the friendship between them.

"James considered Black his brother." Remus explained, the pain showing on his face as he spoke. "They were closer than brothers could be. When Harry was born, James appointed Black his godfather."

"Oh God." She felt sick to her stomach as she started to understand the level of betrayal that had ripped through her father's life before she had come to him. "Does Harry –?"

"No, no he doesn't know." He replied quietly. "Black was best man at James's wedding as well. We shared a flat after Hogwarts for three years and I never suspected a damn thing. The morning that he sold James and Lily out to Voldemort, I left the flat and told him to tidy up his mess. I didn't suspect anything. He was like my brother…and he betrayed us all. Saw James and Lily to their deaths and killed Peter. He _used_ to be friend. He's nothing to me anymore. I need you to understand that."

"I do." She whispered before leaning her head on his shoulder and he sighed, wrapping his arms around her and holding her close, tears threatening to leave his eyes as he thought of how close she had come to harm. He kissed the top of her head and drew in a deep breath.

"I've got to contact the Aurors." He told her and she nodded, wiping her eyes in his shirt before letting him stand up.

Her heart hammered in her chest as she was suddenly left alone in the kitchen and she crossed the room, locking the back door fearfully, drawing the blinds and sitting back down on the ground, drawing her knees up to her chest as her father fire-called someone. Everything seemed to happen at once, as the house was suddenly flooded with people, Aurors descending onto their home, searching the immediate area whilst Eve had to give a statement to the Auror in charge of the hunt for Black, Kingsley Shacklebolt.

"Miss Lupin?" His voice was deep and soothing and she turned her head to look up at the muscled, bald, black Auror, who had a single gold earring in his ear. She stood up, smoothing down her dress, waiting patiently. He extended a hand towards her. "Kingsley Shacklebolt, I'm in charge of the Sirius Black case. If you don't mind, I'd like to take your statement now, if that's okay with you?"

"Er…yeah, sure, that's fine." Eve replied, pulling her fingers through her messy hair. It had dried weirdly. "Is here okay?"

"It's fine." He smiled reassuringly at her and sat down on the edge of the armchair whilst she sat back down on the sofa. "Nothing to worry about, Miss Lupin. I just need you to recount what happened for me. Were you in the house all day?"

"Um…no, I wasn't." Eve answered, pulling her bottom lip between her teeth, her father glancing over towards her, a frown on his face as he spoke with Albus Dumbledore, who had appeared when Remus had contacted him. "I left the house soon after I woke up, like nine-ish. I went down to the bathing hole about ten minutes from here. I spent most of the day there. I was alone the whole day until dad came to get me, waking me up as I'd fallen asleep.

"We…um…walked back home together. He told me that he was taking me out to dinner because it's my birthday. When we got back, he went upstairs to get my birthday present and I sat down on this sofa to wait for him. I-I saw something from the corner of my mind in the kitchen and I got up to see what it was. I thought it was a cat, you know, they sometimes manage to find their way inside. The back door was open so I walked over to it and closed it. I turned around and saw him, standing by the refrigerator. I screamed and he kind of jumped towards me and covered my mouth with his hand to keep me quiet. He told me to shut up but it was too late, dad had already heard me scream.

"I can't really remember what happened next." She wondered quietly what the punishment was for lying to an Auror. "All I remember is thinking that I had to get away from him so that dad had a clear shot at him. I didn't have my wand and Black didn't have a weapon but dad did. I bit his hand here –" she motioned where on her own hand and Kingsley took note of it. "And he released my mouth. I screamed for him to get off me and elbowed him in the stomach and stamped on his foot. I managed to get away and dad then starting firing off spells. He ran out of the back door then, dad following him and that's it."

"Are you sure that he had no weapon?" Kingsley asked her, the quill that was moving of its own accord, recording the words that she spoke. "A wand or a knife? Anything?"

"No, he had neither." Eve answered confidently. "He was so thin that I could feel all of his bones beneath his robes. I'm sure I would have felt a weapon had there been one. He didn't threaten me with anything."

"Alright, Miss Lupin, you've been very helpful." He smiled at her, looking to the injuries on her face. "I am going to have to take a few pictures of your injuries though, for the file, before you can be healed."

"Madam Pomefry has already seen to that." Dumbledore said pleasantly, drifting over with her father, who placed a hand on her shoulder comfortingly. She reached up to hold it as he shot a deeply mistrustful look towards Kingsley, who ignored it with an aura of professionalism. Dumbledore handed a folder of pictures over to Kingsley. "You will find two sets of copies in there."

"Thanks, professor." Kingsley replied, standing up and looking down at Eve. "And thank you, Miss Lupin, for your co-operation. Unfortunately, although we found traces of Black, he's long gone. Apparated away most likely. Would you like Auror guards posted nearby?"

"No, that's okay." Remus replied, squeezing Eve's shoulder. "I'll put up some wards. Eve and I are leaving in September anyway."

"You did the right thing calling us." The Auror told him. "I'd been beginning to suspect that Black had gone overseas. This incident gives me hope he'll be in custody soon. I'll leave you both to your evening. Oh…Miss Lupin, happy birthday."

She smiled up at him before he walked away and Remus slid smoothly over the back of the sofa, drawing her against him, kissing her head again as Dumbledore sat on the other side of her. He used his wand surreptitiously to heal her bruises and her skin tingled, the bruises fading quickly. Dumbledore cast a spell around them so that they could speak privately, he turned to them.

"Perhaps you two would be more comfortable moving to Hogwarts tonight instead of waiting until the school year begins." Dumbledore suggested but the look on Eve's face answered immediately.

"I am not going to let some crazy mass murderer scare me from my home." She replied firmly. "If Black wants to try anything again then he'll find himself on the wrong end of my damn wand. I may not be able to use magic but I can still stab him in the eyes. We are not moving."

"I doubt he'll try it twice, Albus." Remus said quietly, holding his daughter against his side. "And it's not long until the year starts anyway. We'll be okay here."

"Does he know that Eve is your daughter?" Dumbledore asked curiously and they both nodded, he stroked his beard thoughtfully. "Hmm. This could prove to be a problem. Miss Lupin, you're going to have to be careful at Hogwarts this year. I believe your father has told you about his past with Sirius Black." Eve nodded. "I must ask that you stay within the grounds this year, with the exception of Hogsmeade visits. Sirius Black will not hesitate to hurt you to hurt your father. This means no sneaking out of the grounds with your friends for a Butterbeer at the Three Broomsticks."

"What?" Remus asked sharply, looking down at her as she blushed in embarrassment. "You've been sneaking off of school grounds?"

"Not often." She replied, grimacing. "Just…occasionally…when we have something to celebrate. It's not like you never did it!"

"Remus, many students sneak out, it's a fact of living at a school, especially amongst the older students, some are more subtle about how they do it though, such as your daughter." Dumbledore replied calmly. "Madam Rosemerta makes sure they get back to the castle safely. Hogsmeade is nearly as safe as Hogwarts. However, those excursions will have to stop until Black has been taken into custody."

"Yes, sir." She replied, chastised and embarrassed. "I'm sorry."

"We'll talk about this later." Remus said quietly to her and she closed her eyes, expecting a thorough dressing down, however hypocritical it was.

"Well, as both of you are alright and staying here." Dumbledore smiled at them. "I shall return to Hogwarts. I'm craving some lemon tart." Eve hid her smile. "Contact me if you need anything. Happy birthday, Miss Lupin, and my congratulations on absolutely stunning O.W.L results. I shouldn't tell you this but –" he lowered his voice and leaned towards her secretively, his blue eyes sparkling. "You are the top of you year." He straightened back up, smiling. "Good evening."


	3. Chapter 3

Eve lay back on her bed, her head propped up by her pillows, reading her Potions textbook cover to cover

Eve lay back on her bed, her head propped up by her pillows, reading her Potions textbook cover to cover. Professor Snape disliked her with such intensity that it had startled her when she had had her first lesson with him. The only student that he disliked more than her was Harry Potter. Her father had told her it was because he and James had never gotten on with Snape when they had been at Hogwarts, in the same year, and the Potions Master was extending his dislike to their children. She had managed to get into the N.E.W.T classes and _knew_ that Snape would make her last two years at Hogwarts even more unbearable than normal. She wanted to be on form so he couldn't find anything to fault her with, although she knew that was fighting a losing battle. He could find fault with a Veela.

Even as she read her textbook, she couldn't properly focus, her mind on her transformed father in the secure basement of their home. He usually remembered to silence the room before rolling his wand under the door for her to keep for safekeeping – where it lay on her bedside table next to her own – but the transformation had hit him harder that night and he had only time to lock the door and roll his wand away. She could hear the wolf banging against the door and walls, howling and releasing unpleasant sounds. She knew that she wouldn't be able to sleep.

The full moon didn't affect her much. Her strength picked up and she had to eat raw meat but other than that, she was completely unaffected. She knew that her father was relieved she didn't have to suffer through the full moon as well. She suspected he never would have been able to forgive himself, should she have had the same affliction as him. Squeezing her eyes shut as a particularly loud howl tore through the night, she pressed her lips together and counted to ten. She could do nothing else to keep herself busy. They were to set off for Hogwarts in the morning. It was unfortunate that the full moon fell before September 1st but it couldn't be helped.

She had packed both of their trunks and repacked them twice before stopping, realising that she was being ridiculous. She had tidied the house from top to bottom, polishing every corner and even cleaning the fridge and the oven. It was four in the morning and she had never left to do to pass the time until the werewolf fell asleep, which was usually an hour before dawn. She would be able to get some sleep then before going down to cook breakfast and help her father heal. It was another half an hour before everything fell silent and relief filled her, tiredness finally creeping into her bones. She managed to turn her alarm clock on before she fell straight into the comfortable arms of sleep.

It was as though she had just blinked when her alarm rang loudly, penetrating the deep sleep that she had fallen into. With tired limbs and eyes that felt raw and dry, she pulled herself from her bed and dragged herself into the bathroom, showering and freshening herself up, washing her hair. She would dry it on the train when she could use magic again without worrying about punishment from the Ministry of Magic. She threw on a set of clothes and dragged her trunk down the stairs and then dragged her father's down, setting them by the front door.

Breakfast didn't take long to make, setting it out on the table before grabbing the potions that he had prepared for the morning after the transformations and unlocking the door, walking down the steps into the basement. She would never get used to seeing her father, lying naked and injured on the floor, bleeding from the wounds that he had inflicted upon himself. The first time she had seen him like that had been when she was six and he hadn't emerged from the basement after his transformation. She had had nightmares for months afterwards. She picked up the blanket from the banister and draped it over his shivering body, tenderly smoothing his prematurely greying hair from his face, patiently tending to his wounds.

"Morning." Remus whispered to her, finally opening his eyes and smiling weakly up at her. "You look awful."

"Oh, well, that's lovely." Eve replied with a laugh. "You don't look all that great yourself. Can you get up?"

"Yeah." He murmured as she pulled his arm around her slim shoulder, pulling him heavily onto his feet, resting his body weight against her.

She sat him down in front of his breakfast, making sure that he ate everything before she kicked him up the stairs for a hot bath. He emerged an hour later, hair damp from his bath, smelling of the soap that he used and looking as though he had more strength in his body and colour in his skin. They had to set off when he was done and it felt different to know that she wouldn't be saying goodbye to him at platform 9¾ but going to Hogwarts with him. They arrived at the station with fifteen minutes to spare and she was startled when, as she was stepping onto the train, he grabbed her elbow and pulled her into his arms. Her arms came up out of instinct, hugging him back.

"What are you doing?" She asked, her voice muffled by his chest. "We're both going to Hogwarts, you know?"

"I may not get to hug you often once we're there." He answered, kissing the top of her head and pulling back. "Behave yourself. Do _not_ sneak out of Hogwarts again, no matter what. Work hard. Keep on top of everything. Enjoy yourself and _please_ try not to get into any trouble."

"I know." She replied with a hint of exasperation, rolling her eyes. "I'll be good, as always. I won't be able to get away with much now that you'll be there. I don't think I like this idea anymore."

"Tough luck." He grinned, kissing her forehead. "Now get gone. You don't want to be sitting with your old man. Go find your friends. I'll be sleeping most of the journey anyway."

"If you're sure?" She said hesitantly and he nodded with a reassuring smile. She hesitated before kissing his cheek swiftly and leaping onto the train before she could change her mind and insist that she stayed with him.

Eve caught up with a large group of her friends, who greeted her enthusiastically, dragging her into their compartment. She had friends in most years and most houses, including one or two tentative friends in Slytherin, but no close friends, just the way she had chosen it. She was very careful about who she let close to her, as her father had been, but she had enough good friends that she was never lonely. She dropped down in between Cedric Diggory from Hufflepuff and Angelina Johnson, from her own house, just the year below her. They all seemed excited to hear that her father was their new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher.

The journey passed with raucous laughter, games of exploding snap and swapping summer stories. It seemed that everyone had heard of her brush with Sirius Black. She had been unaware that the report had been put into the Daily Prophet. No doubt her father had hidden it from her so that she didn't feel overwhelmed. She had her fifteen minutes of fame by explaining what had happened. The rain pummelled down from the sky, causing the windows to become shimmering panels of grey. It was so dark outside and Eve was starting to feel tired again, longing for her bed in her dormitory at Hogwarts, quite happy to forgo the Start-of-Year feast to get some sleep.

She excused herself to splash some water on her face, spotting her father asleep in a compartment, ironically the same one as Harry Potter and his two friends, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley. Her hand was on the door to the bathroom when she felt the train slowing to a stop. She frowned and moved away from the bathroom to peer out of the window. They couldn't be at Hogwarts yet. There was still, at least, another hour to go before they reached the station at Hogsmeade. She held her breath as the train was suddenly plunged into darkness without warning. She held her wand in her hand.

"_Lumos._" Eve murmured, wand light falling from the tip of her wand, illuminating the floor. She shone it around and almost bit her tongue when she saw Dementors drifting onto the train.

She stumbled over her own feet as she moved, with instinct, towards the compartment that she had seen her father in. Her body connected with the door and she heard silence from the compartment, fumbling with the handle before pushing it open, only to be blinded by a wand of light pointed into her face. She pushed the wand away, recognising the feel of the robes as belonging to her father.

"Eve?" She heard him question as she slipped into the compartment, sliding the door shut behind her.

"There are Dementors on the train." She told him as he reached out and pulled her to him, sitting her down on the sit that he had vacated. "A whole load of them."

"Everyone stay where you are." Remus ordered, pushing her back down again when she rose to help him. "Including you, Eve."

"What are Dementors?" She heard Harry Potter asked but no one answered him as her father approached the door but the door slid open before he could reach it.

A feel of intense unhappiness washed over her. Her unhappiest memories rushing to the forefront of her mind. Her mother, a tall, beautiful, elegant brunette woman drawing on a cigarette in their home in Paris turning around and yelling at her when she started to cry, not liking the smell of the cigarette smoke that drifted over to her. Sitting on a bench in _Le Bois de Boulogne_, crying because she hadn't seen her mother in hours and she was getting cold. Cowering in a corner as her mother's fiancé, Philippe Jean-Paul, advance on her, an ugly look on his face, fist raised in the air, derogatory words on his lips.

…_Votre p__ère est saleté…dégoûtant demi-race…__1_

Then, suddenly, her father's face loomed over all of the unpleasant memories, a soft, gentle smile on his face. A warm laugh in the air as he pushed her on the swing at their local park; tending to her grazed knee with gentle hands; his delighted expression when she received her O.W.L results…

Her eyes snapped open and she managed to dart forwards in enough time to catch a screaming Harry Potter as he pitched towards the ground, the Dementor beaten back by her father's patronus charm, which was a small wolf, a cub – _her_. Her arms circled Harry, cradling him, his back resting across her thighs as his body went limp in her arms, Remus turning around and looking down, a pale look gripping his face as he saw the scene at his feet; his daughter shrugging out of her jacket to free her arms.

"Are you okay?" He asked her quietly, concern obvious in his voice and she nodded, managing a smile. "Is everyone alright?"

"That was a Dementor?" Hermione whispered, tears on her cheeks as she shivered uncontrollably but slid to the floor anyway, kneeling next to Harry, whom Eve was shaking, pointing her wand at him.

"_Enervate_." She breathed and his emerald eyes opened, staring up at her briefly in confusion, looking around the compartment. "Nice of you to come back to us, Potter. How you feeling?"

"Sick." He mumbled and she made a small noise in the back of her throat, helping him back up onto his seat.

"Eve." She looked around and saw her father beckoning her over to him. She removed her hands from Harry's shoulders and stepped over to him. He lowered his head so that he could speak into her ear. "Keep them all in the compartment and give them all chocolate. I'm going to talk to the driver."

"Okay." She nodded, looking pale and feeling shaky. His firm, comforting hands on her arms steady her though; she pre-empted his question. "I'm fine, really. Better than the rest of them."

"That's my girl." He smiled fondly, reaching into his bag and removing a bar of chocolate; snapping off a piece of chocolate and making the other students jump as he handed the piece to Harry. "Here. Eat. It'll help." He passed the enormous slab of chocolate to his daughter. "I'm going to talk to the driver, excuse me…"

"What was that thing?" Harry asked, looking to Eve as she broke the chocolate into pieces, giving everyone a piece.

"One of the Dementors of Azkaban." Eve answered, taking a piece for herself and placing the chocolate back into his trunk. "I presume they were searching the train for Sirius Black. There was no need for them to come aboard the Hogwarts Express but they probably couldn't resist."

"W-what do you mean?" Neville Longbottom asked nervously, biting a miniscule amount of chocolate off into his mouth.

"Dementors feed off happiness." She explained, sitting down with one leg beneath her, everyone's attention on her. "It's how they multiply. They're incredibly dark creatures and have no discrimination…had no, I should say. It's why they guard Azkaban. The actually suck the happiness out of the prisoners, leaving them with no will, driving them insane. Imagine having to repeatedly live out your worst nightmares. It would drive anyone insane. The prisoners are so demoralised that they just sit in their cells, screaming at night. Most kill themselves after a year inside the prison. Dementors are foul creatures."

"Sirius Black got past them." Harry pointed out, holding the chocolate in his hand, uneaten. "He can't be insane."

"He's crazy, not stupid." Eve replied calmly. "There's a marked difference. If Black wants something enough, then insanity wouldn't stand in the way, merely fuel it. It's why the Ministry's in such a panic. No one's ever broken out of Azkaban before and Black has deeply unhappy memories, which is why everyone confused. He should have gone mad instantly."

"So…so Dementors make you see you worst memories?" Hermione asked, a little bit of colour returning to her cheeks. Eve nodded once again.

"Yes." She answered. "When they take your happy memories, all that remains is your unhappy ones. It affects different people differently."

"Is that why I passed out and no one else did?" Harry asked quietly, clearly ashamed that he had been so 'weak'.

"You have horrors in your past that none of us can relate to." Eve told him, her eyes flicking pointedly to his scar. "Dementors will affect you worse than anyone else in this school. It's nothing to be ashamed. It's not a weakness. It just means that you've experienced horrors that have lingered with you. Eat the chocolate. It's not poisoned."

Her father returned after the train had started moving again, informing them all that they were only ten minutes from Hogwarts. She threw him a brief smile and told him that she was going to rejoin her friends, patting Harry's shoulder on the way past as she walked out of the compartment. Her friends almost leaped on her when she re-entered the compartment, all looking the worst for wear, demanding to know what had happened. She was glad when the train stopped at the Hogsmeade platform, casting a charm over her body to make the heavy rain arch away from her, leaving her dry and warm.

"Oi, Lupin!" Eve turned in the pressing crowd of students, who were in a hurry to get off of the train. She saw two familiar red heads pushing their way towards her, grabbing an arm each. "Our talented friend."

"What do you want?" She asked as Fred and George Weasley crowded her, elbowing a path for the three of them.

"We hear that your old man is our new Defence teacher." Fred grinned widely, taking her trunk as they clambered off the train, offering their hands to help her down onto the soaking platform, the two twins getting soaked instantly.

"That's right." Eve replied, raising her voice over the sound of the pounding rain. "Got a problem with that?"

"You misunderstand us our beautiful Prefect." George said charmingly and she rolled her eyes, pulling them towards the nearest carriage, hurling their trunks on board and scrambling inside. The two fifth years shook the water from their bodies. "He was a Gryffindor, wasn't it?"

"Yeah." She answered, frowning in confusion as she tied her hair back loosely. "But I doubt he'll be biased towards us like Snape is towards Slytherin."

"Damn." Fred replied, grimacing in disappointment. "Is he any good?"

"He's the best." Eve laughed good-naturedly. "He taught me everything I know. Far better than Lockhart, although that's not really hard. Who knows? Maybe you two will scrape an O.W.L in Defence."

They both snorted in disbelief. They weren't the most academic of students, preferring to spend their time playing practical jokes on the population of Hogwarts castle and developing various joke products. She would hate to see what their mother, the formidable Molly Weasley, would do if they didn't get at least a handful of decent O.W.L grades. She had seen Mrs Weasley once, bawling out the twins on the platform before her second year at Hogwarts. They had set the tone for their years at the magical school in that moment.

"Hope we get a decent batch of first years." Eve commented as they entered the Great Hall, drying them with her wand and removing the spell from the her own person. "We need to win the House Cup again."

"We need to win the Quidditch Cup this year." Fred corrected her. "I think Oliver may actually kill himself if we don't win it this year."

"I fear for our lives." Eve grinned, looking forwards to the Quidditch season ahead of them. As long as Harry Potter didn't injure himself before the last game of the season _again_ they had a good chance of winning. She didn't want to lose out to the Slytherins again.

"Eve!" Fred and George cursed either side of her and suddenly scattered, leaving her to deal with Oliver Wood, their enthusiastic captain, by herself.

"Oliver!" Eve spun around with a wide grin on her face as her broad, Scottish Quidditch captain grasped her by the arm and pulled her into a seat at the table, having bypassed any polite greetings to submerge himself completely in Quidditch conversation with her.

After Oliver Wood, Eve was the most senior player on the team, having played her position of Chaser since her second year on her Comet 360, which had never failed her. It was generally accepted that she would take the position of Gryffindor Quidditch Captain for her final year at Hogwarts after Oliver left. She liked Quidditch as much as the next person but Oliver was fanatical about it and it showed in his training sessions. Eve still remembered her fourth-year training sessions when he had become captain. It had gotten so bad that Professor McGonagall had had to step in to ensure that the team members actually had some sleep.

With half an ear listening to Oliver, who didn't seem to mind that she wasn't really listening to him, she watched as the rest of the hall filled up. Her father took his seat at the table, scanning the hall for her and when his eyes settled on her, he smiled. He had never seen what his daughter was like at Hogwarts, surrounded by her peers, but she sat at the Gryffindor table, a seventh-year talking into her ear, the Weasley twins discreetly pulling faces at her, which she responded to, and her dorm mates greeting her with excited sounds pulling from their mouths. She looked happy.

He knew that he looked shabby but he didn't mind. What he did mind was that his daughter may look the same as he did. He saved continuously so that he could buy her school uniform new and tailor made so that she didn't look like she came from a poor family, despite the fact that she told him she didn't care. Her robes settled neatly across her shoulders and around her body, her Gryffindor tie loosened, the top few buttons of her crisp white shirt undone and her skirt…he frowned. He would have to talk with her about the length of her skirt. He felt eyes boring into the side of his head and he glanced around to see Severus Snape glaring loathingly at him. Remus hadn't seen him since they had graduated Hogwarts fifteen years before.

"Hello, Severus." Remus greeted politely and the mutilated look that crossed his colleague's face told him that the past was not forgotten.

_Great_.

"Ah, good evening, Remus." Dumbledore greeted as he settled into his chair and looked down the table towards him. "I heard there was a slight bit of bother on the train. The Dementors had no business there. Thank you for dealing with it so swiftly. How is Mr. Potter?"

"He's okay now." Remus replied, looking around the hall again but not finding the familiar messy black hair. "Eve was quite quick in catching him before he hit the floor so he has no physical injuries. I fear the Dementors are going to affect him far worse than anyone else though."

"The sign of a weak disposition." Snape commented snidely from the side and Remus held back the growl in his throat.

"He has horrific memories, Severus, perhaps you can relate to that." He shot back without missing a beat, watching in satisfaction as the colour drained from his already pale face and he glowered at the new teacher in an ugly manner before turning away from him and ignoring him completely.

"How is Eve?" Dumbledore asked, ignoring the petty bickering between his two staff members. "Has she recovered from her ordeal?"

"With gusto." Remus replied with a proud smile. "She got irritated with me during the end of the holidays because I wouldn't let her out alone. She's a teenager. She thinks she's invincible."

"Ah, the joys of youth." Dumbledore mused fondly, his eyes sparkling as the Great Hall finally filled up with the remaining students; Professor McGonagall leaving the hall to bring the first years into the hall to be sorted. "Remarkable things can be achieved when a person believes that they are invincible."

Eve finally started to feel hungry as she watched the first years being sorted into their new houses. She swore that they got smaller every single year. The new batch looked as though they barely came up to her waist. Her stomach threatened to rumble but she pressed an arm across it, clapping when a new Gryffindor was sorted, joining the ranks of red and gold. Finally, Professor Flitwick took the stool away, along with the Sorting Hat and Eve noticed that Harry Potter and Hermione Granger entered the hall, quickly moving towards their house table.

"I may actually _die_ if I don't eat soon!" Fred Weasley groaned, banging his head on the table, making a small wave of laughter ripple through those that had heard him.

The moment that Professor Dumbledore rose to his feet, all whispers and conversations broke off. Their Headmaster, although very old, gave the impression of having great energy. He had several feet of long silver hair and beard, which was tucked into the waistband of his sparkly blue robes, half-moon spectacles and a crooked nose that looked as though it had been broken once or twice. He was often described as the greatest wizard of the age but that wasn't why Eve respected him. Eve could just look at him and an aura of calm and security would wash over her, no matter what the circumstance, and his office door was always open for any student that needed, or wanted, to talk to him.

"Welcome!" Dumbledore exclaimed with a cheery smile, spreading his arms wide as he looked out over the sea of his students, the candlelight shimmering on his beard. "Welcome to another year at Hogwarts! I have a few things to say to you all, and one of them is very serious, I think it is best to get it out of the way before you become befuddled by our excellent feast…"

He cleared his throat before he continued. "As you will all be aware after their search of their Hogwarts Express, our school is presently playing host to the Dementors of Azkaban, who are here on Ministry of Magic business.

"They are stationed at every entrance to the grounds, and while they are with us, I must make it plain that no one is to leave the grounds without permission. Dementors are not to be fooled by tricks or disguises – or even Invisibility Cloaks. It is not in the nature of a Dementor to understand pleading or excuses. I therefore warn each and every one of you to give them no reason to harm you. I look to the Prefects, and our new Head Boy and Head Girl, to make sure that no student runs foul of the Dementors."

Dumbledore looked around the hall again and nobody moved or made a sound. The Dementors were serious business. He nodded almost imperceptibly to himself before his body language changed and the atmosphere seemed to lift as he smiled around at them all, the air losing its thick tension.

"On a happier note, I am pleased to welcome two new teachers to our ranks this year. Firstly, Professor Remus Lupin, who has kindly consented to fill the post of Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher."

The loudest applause came from the Gryffindor table, putting two and two together and working out that their new teacher was the father of one of their own. Remus rose to his feet and gave a little bow in greeting before sitting back down. Eve grinned up at him and he turned pink slightly.

"As to our second new appointment," Dumbledore continued once the applause for her father had died away, "well, I am sorry to tell you that Professor Kettleburn, our Care of Magical Creatures teacher, retired at the end of last year in order to enjoy more time with his remaining limbs." Eve grinned. "However, I am delighted to say that his place will be filled by none other than Rubeus Hagrid, who had agreed to take on this teaching job in addition to his game keeping duties."

There was a moment of stunned silence before a great tidal wave of applause swept over the hall, particularly tumultuous at the Gryffindor table. Eve was smiling widely, bringing her hands together, Hagrid ruby red in the face and staring down at his enormous hands, his wide grin hidden in the tangle of his black beard. She loved Hagrid. She always had a cup of tea with him every Friday evening after all her lessons were over and on the occasional weekend, she helped him in the Forbidden Forest on the more lighter of his duties. The applause eventually died out and Hagrid wiped his eyes on the tablecloth, knocking an empty goblet right onto Snape's lap. Eve laughed hard at that.

"Well, I think that's everything of importance." Dumbledore smiled genially. "Let the feast begin!"

The feast was, as always, delicious. Eve ate until she couldn't eat anymore but somehow managed to find room for dessert. She thought she would have difficultly moving but she succeeded to drag her body off of the bench that she had sat on and detangled herself from her friends to wait for her father, throwing her arms around Hagrid's middle as she squealed congratulations at him. He beamed widely at her, clapping her shoulder in what was meant to be a gentle manner, but sent her to the floor anyway. He smiled apologetically, grasping the back of her robes and picking her up easily, like a rag doll, setting her on her feet.

"I'll be in your class this year." Eve grinned at her large friend. "Your N.E.W.T classes."

"I've get some interestin' things fer yeh." Hagrid replied enthusiastically. "Come down sometime tomorrow an' I'll show yeh."

"I'll stop by during lunch." She promised him and his black eyes softened as he smiled at her. He was the friendliest person that she had ever met, and his heart was always in the right place, if occasionally misguided.

"Remus Lupin!" Hagrid suddenly boomed, clapping her father into a huge embrace, nearly suffocating him. Eve covered her laughter with her hand as his limbs went everywhere in surprise. "It's been too long!"

"That it has." Remus replied with a smile, straightening his shabby robes. "Congratulations, Hagrid."

Hagrid left them alone, heading down to his hut, and Eve walked alongside her father, going to see his private quarters so that she knew where he was if she needed him. They walked in a companionable silence, Remus looking around the castle curiously, attempting to find out whether anything had changed. She watched in amusement, keeping her lips sealed so as not to laugh or make a witty comment. They entered the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom and walked up into his office, his belongings unpacked by the house-elves, and he removed a book from the bookcase. She let out an amazed sound as a door melted into existence and he opened it.

"That was cool." Eve informed him with a grin as he motioned for her to enter first.

His private quarters were almost as large as the classroom. Stone walls with Gryffindor colours and a large, four-poster bed tucked behind an alcove to afford him some privacy form the large room whilst sleeping. There was a huge bookcase, filled with every book imaginable on every different subject, personal pictures already decorating the room. She saw a picture of her, aged five, sitting atop of her father's shoulders, her hands in his hair, chocolate around her mouth. She smiled at the picture before turning to face him.

"I like it." Eve said. "It's nice. _Big_. Where will you transform?"

"Here." He answered and she raised an eyebrow in surprise and concern. "Professor Snape has kindly agreed to make the Wolfsbane Potion for me."

"Oh, thank God." She sighed in relief, a lopsided smile appearing on her face. "You know, I could always try my hand at making it. Maybe I could make it for you."

"It's a difficult potion, Eve." He replied, shrugging out of his robes, which he wore over his trousers and jumper.

"Dad, I'm like a genius." She told him and he laughed at her lack of modesty. "I'm sure I can make the potion. If _Snape_ can do it…"

"You're so modest." He said fondly, reaching out and holding her chin with a smile. "Why don't you talk to Professor Snape and see whether he'll teach you?"

"There's more of a chance of hell freezing over than Snape agreeing to teach a Gryffindor, let alone me, in his spare time." Eve replied before leaning across and kissing his cheek. "I'm going to bed. Good luck with your lessons tomorrow. You'll be great, of course."

"Thanks, sweetheart." Remus smiled, gently pushing her towards the door. "I'll try and speak to you soon."

She smiled at him before slipping out of his private quarters, her rich brown hair sweeping behind her in gentle waves. She moved swiftly through the corridors, her feet carrying her to the Gryffindor Common Room automatically, giving the password to the Fat Lady, who greeted her with an imperious look on her painted face. The Fat Lady disapproved of her as she generally didn't pay attention to curfew and insisted on waking her up whenever she wanted to get back into the common room at two or three in the morning. Eve nodded to the various people who greeted her, dragging her body up to her bed, finally able to fall fast asleep, collapsing on her bed, asleep before she had even hit her pillow.

1 Your father is filth…disgusting half-breed


	4. Chapter 4

Eve liked school

Eve liked school. She could be considered unnatural in that respect but she actually quite liked school and everything that came with it – lessons, Quidditch and a social life. She found the first day of each new year exciting to see how her days would be structured and to start all over again. She was even more excited because she was starting her N.E.W.T level courses, starting with Transfiguration. She liked starting her school year, and days, off with Transfiguration as Professor McGonagall always managed to successfully put her in the mood to work hard for the rest of the week.

After only two classes though, she saw that she wouldn't be getting any free time with the amount of homework that she would received. She saw her father a handful of times in passing in the corridors, managing a wave to him, before she swept up with the rest of the students. She skilfully managed to avoid Oliver, who seemed intent on seeking her out to discuss more Quidditch tactics. By the time that lunch rolled around, she quickly grabbed a sandwich and an apple from the Great Hall and left the castle, munching on her sandwich, slipping the apple into her bag, whilst walking down to Hagrid's hut, Dementors swarming high above her head and making the grounds seem colder than normal. She shot them a glare, polishing off her beef sandwich, and approaching Hagrid's hut.

Her eyes widened in delight at seeing a Hippogriff tethered outside Hagrid's hut. She had read about them and knew all about them in theory but Professor Kettleburn had never brought one into their lessons. She approached it cautiously, maintaining eye contact with the creature before bowing at the waist, making sure that she didn't blink, knowing that Hippogriff's didn't like sudden movement. She waited, holding her breath, praying that it would bow back to her and when it did, a huge smile erupted across her face. She approached it, holding out her hand and stroking its grey feathers, which were smooth and soft beneath her palm and fingers.

"Hello, there." Eve smiled, smoothing her palm across its shiny beak, which teetered off into a sharp, curved point.

She reached into her bag with her free hand slowly and removed the apple that she had been saving for the afternoon, holding it in the palm of her hand for it to eat. It took it from her hand, scraping at her skin slightly. It tossed the apple back into its mouth, chomping down on it, and nudging at her bag, hoping for some more food. She just chuckled and patted its beak before walking away, retouching her pale pink lipstick as she knocked on Hagrid's front door, sliding the tube back into her bag.

"GO AWAY!" Hagrid's voice boomed from the inside and she stepped back in surprise. He had never spoken to her like that before. She knocked again. "GO AWAY, I SAID!"

"Hagrid, it's Eve!" She called out, pressing her shoulder against the door, speaking through it. "What's wrong? Open up!"

When Hagrid didn't come to the door and didn't answer her, she removed her wand from her bag and tapped it against the door. The lock fell out of place and she pushed it open cautiously, stepping inside. She blushed when she saw Albus Dumbledore sitting at the table and Hagrid looking as though his whole world had fallen apart, tear tracks disappearing into his bushy black beard.

"Sorry, professor, I was worried…" Eve trailed off with a vague wave of her hand, her wand still in it. "Hagrid? What's wrong?"

"I've failed!" He wailed, dropping his head down heavily onto the table, making her jump and wince at the sound of his head cracking on the table. "Don' reckon 'Ogwarts 'as ever 'ad a teacher tha's only lasted a day."

"What are you talking about?" She asked in concern, dropping her bag onto the ground and crossing the room to her friend, wrapping her arms as best she could around his large shoulders. "Hagrid?"

"There was a slight incident with Buckbeak the Hippogriff in his first lesson." Dumbledore informed her calmly and she looked towards him. "Young Mr. Malfoy was injured and has already written to inform his father about it."

"Oh, Hagrid, if it was Malfoy then he was out to cause trouble." Eve said, pulling up a chair. "And he can't be too badly injured if he managed to write home to his father about it. You know what the Malfoys are like. Anyone with half a brain knows how to act around a Hippogriff."

Hagrid merely let out a choked sob and rose from the table, heading out to the back and Eve bit her bottom lip, watching him leave before turning to face her Headmaster, who had fixed her a cup of tea whilst she had been trying to reassure Hagrid that everything would be okay. She lifted it to her lips with a soft smile and took a sip, letting the hot liquid roll down her throat.

"He's not going to be fired, is he, sir?" Eve asked, not looking at him, setting the cup of tea back down onto the table.

"Of course not, Miss Lupin." Dumbledore smiled at her. "But I fear that this incident shall cause some trouble for him once Lucius Malfoy speaks to the Board of Governors."

"Is there anything I can do to help, sir?" She asked hopefully and his smile turned into a proud, indulgent one.

"Merely being there for Hagrid will be enough at the moment." He told her; he took a sip of his tea. "How have your lessons been so far?"

"Good, very good." She answered, slightly uncertain how to hold a conversation with him as she had never been alone in a room with him, without someone to act as a buffer. "Lots of homework already."

"I remember those days." Dumbledore commented reminiscently. "And when do you have your first lesson with your father?"

"Last lesson today." Eve answered. "I'm looking forwards to it. I've seen his lesson plans. I really can't wait to get started with the Patronus Charm. I tried to get him to teach it to me earlier but he refused. He didn't want it to look like favouritism. Still, it'll be really useful with Dementors everywhere."

"That it will." He agreed, looking at her. "The Patronus Charm is a remarkable spell. The corporeal form that the charm takes is very telling of the person casting it. Your father's, for instance, shows that you are his number one priority."

"That's not written in the textbook." She frowned. "So, the form is indicative of who or what a person loves?"

"Sometimes." He replied. "The majority of times, however, it is an extension of a person themselves. For example, I have an acquaintance in the Auror department whose patronus takes the form of a lynx, which represents his life as an Auror, as they tend to be quite solitary or work in small groups. It's all very personal. I must say, I am rather curious as to what yours will be. Please inform me when you find out."

"I will." She smiled before checking her watch. "I have to get going. I've got Ancient Runes. Will you tell Hagrid that I'm thinking of him and I'll come and see him soon?"

"Of course." Dumbledore replied, rising with her to see her to the door. "Thank you for showing concern."

"Have a good day, professor." She told him before leaving the hut and moving swiftly back up to the castle, climbing the hill. She only just made it to Ancient Runes on time, sliding into her seat by the wall, pulling her necessities out of her bag,

She had a two free periods between Ancient Runes and Defence Against the Dark Arts so she used the time to get started on her Transfiguration essay. McGonagall was not holding back with the first essay of the year, which was on advanced human Transfiguration. Eve knew a little bit about that as her father had told her stories of James Potter and his animagus form, how he had achieved it to help him through his transformations. She dipped her quill into her pot of ink and went to write another paragraph to her essay when she paused, a frown on her forehead, her lips parting as she looked up slowly, a terrible thought passing through her mind.

If James Potter had been an animagus, as had Peter Pettigrew, then surely Sirius Black…

"Oh God." Eve breathed, holding a hand over her mouth, accidentally smearing black ink at the corner of her mouth.

The minutes seemed to crawl by as she suddenly found that she couldn't concentrate on her essay. She gathered her belongings together, allowed her friend to look over the notes that she had made for her essay, before half running to the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom. The second years were still in lesson and she waited anxiously, checking her watch every five seconds, before the second years started to file out. She pushed through them, hands on their heads as she waded through the crowd, winking at one of the students that she tutored.

"Eve, you are _really_ early." Remus smiled in delighted surprise, shuffling the papers on his desk and wiping the board clean as she shut the door behind him. "Didn't you have a –?"

"Sirius Black is an animagus." Eve said and he spun around, dropping the board rubber, a horrified look on his face. "He is, isn't he? An illegal one?"

"How did you –?" he began to ask but she cut him off, dropping her bag on her normal desk as she walked towards him.

"James Potter and Peter Pettigrew were both animaguses." She told him, stopping at his desk, leaning her hands against the edge. "Sirius Black was like a brother to you, as was James. By process of intelligence, it makes sense that Black is an animagus. You haven't told Professor Dumbledore, have you?"

"No." He sighed, looking thoroughly downtrodden. "I didn't even think about what you would work out when I told you about Black. How did you work it out?"

"Professor McGonagall set us an essay on advanced human Transfiguration this morning." She answered quietly. "It clicked in my mind. Guess it just needed a push. What's his animagus form?"

"A big black dog." Remus admitted quietly. "Slightly like the Grim."

"The-the Grim?" Eve asked in horror, losing all colour in her face and she swayed. He stepped around the desk worriedly, grasping her elbow and leading her to his seat behind his desk. Her mind replayed the scene on her birthday with the great black dog that had been watching her.

"Eve? Sweetheart?" He asked in concern. "What's wrong?"

"I saw the dog before." She murmured, shaking slightly as she pressed her hands to her stomach. "On my birthday. I was in the lake and it was lying on my towel watching me. I gave it some food. By the time I woke up, it was gone."

"Shit." Remus cursed, pale in the face as well. "He didn't hurt you in anyway, did he?"

"No." She whispered. "He just…I just gave him some food and fell asleep. He was gone when I woke up. He didn't do anything to me. Dad, if Dumbledore doesn't know, then he can get into the castle as a dog. Why won't you tell him?"

"I…James, Peter and even Sirius risked everything for me." He told her quietly, kneeling at her feet, holding her hands in his. "I betrayed Dumbledore's trust in me. He let a werewolf into Hogwarts; he did everything to ensure the safety of everyone in the castle; and I repaid him but willingly prowling the grounds, the Forbidden Forest, Hogsmeade, as a werewolf with my three, illegal animagus friends. I can't tell him and I hate that I look like a coward in your eyes."

"Oh, no, dad, don't say that." She pleaded, tears in her eyes as she leant forwards, wrapping her arms around his neck. He hugged her back tightly, kissing her covered shoulder. "I don't think you're a coward. I-I won't say anything. I'll forget I even know."

"I knew I was in trouble with an intelligent daughter." He said and she chuckled, drying her eyes on the shoulder of his robes before pulling back and smiling. "Thank you, Eve, I'm sorry I didn't tell you before."

"S'okay." She smiled at him, smoothing her thumbs under her ears. "So, how have your lessons been?"

He smiled back at her and managed to tell her a little about his day before her classmates started to fill in the classroom and she smiled sheepishly before vacating his chair and moving to her own, grinning at her friend and making a face at the Slytherin who she always had a problem with. She sat down in her seat and let her friend borrow her lipstick as Eve told her about what had happened with Hagrid's first class.

"Malfoy's foul." Nancy Attais murmured in disgust before she spotted their new teacher. "Oh my God. Your dad's gorgeous! OW!"

Eve had slammed her fist into her shoulder in horror. She had never heard anyone comment on her father in such a way and it made her feel uncomfortable. Her father's attractiveness had never been brought to her attention before. She had never looked at him in such a way and he had never had any girlfriends. Now that she actually thought about it, she tried to recall if he had ever had any female friends. She couldn't recall any single one. Either he had been very careful and never brought anyone home or he hadn't had intimate female company since she had come into his life.

"Good afternoon." Remus finally started and she drew her attention away from her inner musings to her father. "Now, I'm sure that you've had all your teachers so far impressing upon you the importance of your N.E.W.T years so I'm not going to repeat that. I merely ask that you work hard, get your homework in one time and if you have any problems, my door is always open for me to help. It's what I'm here for. With that said, let's get started. We're going to be working on Patronus Charms for the first few weeks. Who can tell me about that? Yes, Miss…?"

"Rebekki, sir, Olivia Rebekki." The Ravenclaw prefect answered, sitting up in her chair as she rattled off the textbook answer.

Their first Defence lesson was fantastic and the doubters that had been in there had been silenced as her father really knew what he was doing. She had managed to produce a waspish silver cloud from the end of her wand but nothing spectacular. Still, she had earned Gryffindor five points for her effort and she lingered at the end of the class to smile at him, express her enthusiasm before she had to leave. He just winked at her as she left the classroom, relieved.

Her first week back at Hogwarts passed in a haze of essays, homework, lessons, Prefect patrols, tutoring, attempting to have some form of a social life and keeping a close eye on the Daily Prophet, watching out for any news on Sirius Black. She was on edge with the revelation that Black was an animagus. She kept a careful eye out for any sign of a large black, Grim-like dog and always jumped whenever she heard something that sounded like a bark. She didn't get a chance to speak to her father properly, only lingering behind after classes and quick words in the corridors. The only time that she got to speak with her father properly that first week was in the evening after his first lesson with Harry Potter and his classmates.

Remus had been laughing so hard about what had happened in his class that they hadn't been able to do much more than laugh, which was good enough for her. She was fairly certain that Neville Longbottom's boggart would go down in Hogwarts history. Snape stalked the castle in a vicious temper and she dreaded her next Potions lesson but it was worth it. The picture of Snape in women's clothing was priceless and she had to stem her laughter every time that she saw her Potions master. Neville had been treated like a hero in the Gryffindor Common Room for the night.

September gave way to October and if Eve didn't know better, she wouldn't have thought that she and her father lived and worked in the same castle. They were both so busy that they very rarely got to spend any time together. She had managed to solve the problem of keeping him up to date with her life but sending him letters as though he still lived at home. He seemed to understand what she was doing and sent her a weekly letter back. She found it easier to separate Professor Lupin from her father that way. It was a Wednesday in the first week of October and she was working steadfastly in the library, attempting to translate some Runes when Oliver Wood tracked her down.

"Lupin, there you are!" He exclaimed loudly, receiving a severe glare from Madam Pince, the librarian. Eve glanced up, distracted, stray hair falling in front of her eyes, which she blew out of the way. "There's a meeting tomorrow at six followed by a training session. Meet in the changing rooms. Be there, Lupin."

"Sure thing, Oliver." Eve replied before waving him away and turning back to her books, wanting to finish her Ancient Runes work with a pleading desperation.

At six in the evening the next day, Eve found herself sitting in the chilly Gryffindor changing rooms, pulling her coat tighter around her body, sitting next to Harry, watching Oliver pace before them. There was a quiet sort of desperation in his voice as he addressed his six fellow teammates. It was important to him that he held the Quidditch Cup in his hands with a Gryffindor victory before he graduated. Eve feared for his safety and theirs if they didn't win the cup.

"This is our last chance – _my_ last chance – to win the Quidditch Cup." Oliver told them, striding up and down in front of them. "I'll be leaving at the end of this year. I'll never get another shot at it.

"Gryffindor haven't won for seven years now. Okay, so we've had the worst luck in the world – injuries – then the tournament getting called off last year." He swallowed, as though the memory of it was still too painful to bear. "But we also know we've got the _best_ – _ruddy_ – _team_ – _in _– _the _– _school_!" He punched his fist into his hand with the familiar manic glint in his eyes.

"We've got three _superb_ Chasers." He looked towards Eve, Angelina Johnson and Katie Bell and smiled proudly. "We've got two _unbeatable_ Beaters."

"Stop it, Oliver, you're embarrassing us." Fred and George Weasley said together, pretending to blush.

"And we've got a Seeker who's _never failed to win us a match_." Oliver continued looking to Harry with a kind of furious pride. "So let's win this cup. Let Gryffindor go through to next year under Captain Lupin –" he nodded firmly, determinedly towards Eve who blushed. "As standing champions. The point is the Quidditch Cup should have had our name on it for the past two years. Ever since Harry joined the team, I've thought the thing was in the bag. But we haven't got it, this year's the last year we'll have a chance to see our name on the thing…"

He spoke so dejectedly that Eve had to speak up, even Fred and George looked sympathetic. She rose to her feet, using Harry's shoulder to steady her as she walked towards Oliver, patting his arm as he started to look emotional, looking out to the players that would be her team the next year. Oliver was right. They were the best-damned team in the whole school and this year would be their year.

"Oliver's right." Eve said. "The Quidditch Cup is ours by right so let's go out there and finally bring it home. Let's make McGonagall smile."

Full of determination, the team started training sessions, three evenings a week, regardless of the weather. There were many evenings when they didn't get in until just before curfew, dripping wet and covered in mud, but there was a determination about the group of seven that prevented anyone from arguing with them. Quidditch wasn't just a sport, it was a matter of principle. Eve would actually rather die that see the cup in Slytherin hands. It was nearing the end of October when they all trooped back into the castle and she saw her father waiting for her, a thermos of hot chocolate in his hands, and she waved goodbye to her teammates, dragging her muddy body over to him.

"Hey." She greeted, almost downing the thermos, burning her throat and mouth but she felt better. "Waiting for me?"

"No, Hagrid, we've got a hot date tonight." Remus replied with a smile and she snorted in laughter. "Thought I'd spend some time with my only child, didn't realise she's been transformed into a swamp creature."

"I'm not that bad." She protested, looking down at her. Then again…she was caked liberally in wet mud and her hair was wet and plastered to the back of her neck and face. "It's Quidditch."

"Come on, I want to spend some time with you." He smiled, reaching out to slip an arm around her shoulders before rethinking it at her appearance. "Maybe you can have a shower first."

"You're so kind." She grinned, slinging her broomstick over her shoulder, accidentally flicking mud behind him.

The hot shower in his private quarters was fantastic and he had had some house-elves retrieve some clean clothes for her from her dormitory, setting them just inside the door. She felt warm and clean for the first time all day and pulled on her grey sweat pants and her white polo neck on, drying her hair with a flick of her wand, practicing her non-verbal spells, which he had started teaching her. She noticed that her filthy clothes had disappeared and she padded out into the main room, to see that there was dinner. Food drew her towards the table.

"Better?" Her father asked her and she nodded with a smile, sinking down into the chair opposite him. "You're going to catch a cold being outside in this weather all of the time."

"I wouldn't dare!" She exclaimed, eyes wide with horror. "Oliver may actually _physically_ harm me if I fall ill before our first match. He's desperate to win the cup and beat Slytherin. Anyway, how are you? Was the full moon alright?"

"It was a lot better than usual." Remus answered as she dug into their first dinner together in two months. "The Wolfsbane potion really helped. I managed to sleep in my transformed form."

"That's good." She smiled at him, managing to eat with manners despite her hungry state. "What about your lessons? Everyone loves you, by the way, they're all saying you're the best teacher we've ever had, and I'm not making this up."

"Stop it." He grinned at her, faint colour splashing across his cheeks and her smile widened.

It was nice catching up with him and talking about nonsensical things and important things and just father-daughter things. He asked her to pick him up some chocolate when she went to Hogsmeade at the weekend and she promised she would before they sat in front of the fire, reading in a familial silence before she eventually had to leave as she was past curfew. She refused the letter of excuse he offered to write for her as she could just claim she was on patrol. She let herself fall into his embrace, closing her eyes against his familiar body and scent, tightening her fingers on his rough jumper before kissing his cheek and bidding him goodnight.

The common room was almost empty when she returned and she managed to finish an essay before she retired to her bed. She barely had time to think for the rest of the week and she woke up on the morning of the Hogsmeade visit to her friend leaning over her, a manic grin on her face. Nancy needed to learn about personal space. She dragged herself out of her warm bed, flung on her trusted pair of jeans, her white polo neck, her only pair of boots and she grabbed her sandy coloured, baggy, thin coat with deep pockets. She grabbed her bag and followed Nancy down to the Great Hall.

"Where's your dad?" Nancy asked, arching her head around, looking for her father. Eve scowled at her. Her closest friend had developed a crush on her father, which was utterly disgusting.

"He's ill." Eve replied, not particularly lying as the full moon was the following night, which was fortunate, as he wouldn't be missing the Halloween feast. She pulled a bowl of fresh, chopped fruit towards her. "Eat up. I want a decent table in the Three Broomsticks for lunchtime."

"Ah, about that." Nancy said and Eve's fork paused on the way to her mouth, looking out of the corner of her eyes. "Now don't get mad –" she set her fork down slowly. "But how do you feel about a double date?"

"Murderous." She answered blandly. "What have you done?"

"You know Timothy Weir from Hufflepuff?" Her friend asked and she nodded slowly, recalling a red haired fifth-year, who was actually quite cute in an adorable, younger brother kind of way. "Well, he asked me out and I said yes but…the thing is, his friend will be left alone for lunch so I said that I have the most beautiful best friend in all of Hogwarts who really wanted mind keeping him company in a double date."

"Who?" Eve asked with the air of a person about to walk to her death and Nancy smiled in what was supposed to be a reassuring manner.

"Cedric Diggory." She replied and a look of horror crossed her face as she hurriedly shushed her friend, casting anxious glances around the Gryffindor table. It wasn't as though she didn't like Cedric Diggory, he was quite a lovely person but the only problem was he was the captain of the Hufflepuff Quidditch team.

"Nancy!" She hissed in annoyance. "I can't have lunch with Diggory! He's…like the enemy!"

"Oh, give over." Nancy rolled her eyes. "It's just lunch. It's not like I'm asking you to marry the guy or anything. Please, Eve, I really need someone just to sit there. I'll pay you back, I promise."

"Fine!" Eve gave in and her friend's face brightened. "But if Oliver Wood finds out about this. You can tell him just why I was having lunch with him."

"Deal." She grinned happily, flinging her arms around her friend. "You're the best."

Eve made a sound in the back of her throat, eating her breakfast as she read the morning Daily Prophet. Some old man had swore that he had spotted Sirius Black near his home in Ireland, which she doubted very much. Black was near Hogwarts, of that she was certain. Her gut instinct told her that, as well all of the facts that she knew. She finished her breakfast and walked with Nancy out of the castle, passing a suspicious Filch, the caretaker, who ticked their names off of his list.

Lunch was at one in the Three Broomsticks and Tim and Cedric were already waiting for them. Eve drew in a deep breath and steeled herself for the lunch 'date' and forced a smile onto her face as the two boys rose to greet them. Cedric didn't look half as uncomfortable as Eve felt, but Hufflepuffs were remarkable different to Gryffindors. He shook her head and pulled her seat out for her as she shrugged out of her coat, draping it over the back of her chair.

"Tim, this is my best friend, Eve Lupin." Nancy introduced, shooting a look at Eve to tell her to play nice.

"I know." Tim replied, shaking her hand across the table. "I've seen you around the castle and on the pitch. You're Professor Lupin's daughter, aren't you?"

"Yeah, I am." She agreed, nodding. "Don't hold it against me though."

"Are you kidding?" Cedric laughed. "Your father's the best teacher we've ever had."

"Thank you." She smiled at him before perusing the menu, already knowing what she wanted.

To her surprise, she actually had fun talking with Cedric. They both avoided discussion about Quidditch, obviously not trusting each other when it came to tactics, and they talked about other things instead, such as the books that they had read, how they were finding lessons. He was in his fifth year and studying for his O.W.Ls, something that Eve was incredibly glad was over. She only had one more set of exams to worry about before she could leave Hogwarts and enter into the world. She was laughing at a joke that Tim had told when her head snapped around quickly. A great black dog was staring into the window, straight at her, she dropped her Butterbeer to the ground in surprise, eyes widening and she leapt up, grabbing her bag and coat, flinging down some money quickly.

She ignored the calls of her lunch partners as she tore from the Three Broomsticks, pulling her coat on as she ran. The dog was streaming off down the street and she took off after it, yelling at people to get out of her way, her boots pounding onto the cobbled streets and she rounded a corner, seeing its black tail disappear past another shop and she tried her hardest to catch up with him but by the time that she had reached a natural enclosure, she had lost sight of him and she screamed in annoyance, stamping her foot. Her father needed to hear about what had happened.

Using one of the secret passages that she knew in and out of the castle, she reached the castle within twenty minutes and ran full pelt towards her father's office. She narrowly avoided Filch and streamed past Snape, who took ten points off of her for running in the halls, and she flew up a flight of steps, rounded a corner and shot towards his officer. Banging the classroom door open, she wove between the desks, took the steps three at a time before flying into her father's office.

"Dad!" She exclaimed before sliding to a halt as she realised that he wasn't alone. She blinked in surprise. "Oh, hey, Harry."

"Hey, Eve." Harry Potter replied, looking up at her in surprise before looking to her father. "Thanks for the tea, professor. I'll…um…leave you to it."

"Sorry." She mouthed apologetically but Harry just smiled at her before slipping from the office. She made sure that he had left the classroom before closing the door and looking to her father, an empty goblet on his desk. "Sirius Black was in Hogsmeade as an animagus. He watched me eating lunch. I chased him but he lost me. I don't know where he got to."

"You chased him?" Remus asked in disbelief. "Eve! What were you thinking?" He held up a hand before she could answer. "Wait. I don't want to know. Merlin, Eve. Do you know what he could have done to you? Promise me you won't go chasing after him if you see him again."

"I…I…" she bit her bottom lip, shifting her weight between both feet nervously. "I can't promise that." He looked up at her incredulously. "He wants to kill, Harry, dad! I can't just stand by and let that happen. Not if I can stop it. You raised me better than that."

"Then promise me you want go seeking him out." Remus replied with a hint of anger and she nodded. "Eve, I'm not saying this because I think you can't look after yourself, I'm saying this because I don't want to lose you. You're my baby girl. I don't want you to get hurt."

"I know." She smiled, walking around to him and he stood up, enveloping her in his arms, kissing the top of her head. "I've got your chocolate."

"Mmm, that's why you're my favourite child." He told her and she snorted, rummaging in her bag for his chocolate.

"I'm your only child." She pointed out, slapping a bar of chocolate into his hands. He smiled at her and fondly ruffled her dark hair.

"And you're so perfect I've never wanted another one." He replied and she made a face at him, mimicking throwing up. He cuffed her gently around the back of her head. "Now get gone. I need to finish some marking."

"All right." She grinned, letting him kiss her forehead before she left his office, waving over her shoulder.

When she met up with Nancy in the Great Hall for the Halloween feast, her friend refused to speak with her for running out on the lunch date with no explanation. Eve let her have her sulk, knowing that she would be dying to talk to her later to tell her all about her date with Timothy. The food was, as always, delicious and she managed to eat second helpings of everything, until she felt as though she was going to burst. She was one of the first to leave the Great Hall, catching up with the Weasley twins, who looked as though they were planning something interesting. They greeted her with exuberant grins before they all watched, in bemusement, as the Fat Lady streamed past them, racing through the portraits.

"Too much wine." Fred commented and Eve snorted in amusement as they walked up a flight of stairs.

Her heart froze as she swore she saw a large black dog disappear out of the corner of her eyes. Colour draining from her face, she ran the rest of the way to the common room and a look of horror claimed her, Fred and George swearing violently in unison behind her. The Fat Lady's canvas was hanging in torn strips from her frame and Eve took a step back, bumping into George's chest, his hands automatically steadying her.

"What the hell happened here?" George asked in horror and Eve glanced around.

"Sirius Black, it's got to be." Eve swallowed. She had known that he would get past the Dementors in his animagus form and now he had just proven her right. She would also now hand him over to the Dementors if she saw him. "He's still in the castle!"

"What?" The twins asked together as she turned around, wide-eyed.

"We just saw the Fat Lady!" She exclaimed, removing her wand. "He can't have gone far!"

"Lupin!" Fred bellowed after her as she took off at a run. "ARE YOU CRAZY?"

There was no way that Black would risk running past the Dementors, even in his animagus form, and all of the secret passages in and out of the school were blocked. Except one. She corrected her path and tore off back past Fred and George and the other Gryffindors that had begun to gather, pressing through the corridor. The statue of the one-eyed witch was unprotected and as her father had been the one to tell her about it, she knew that Black would know about it. She was taking the short cut whilst he had been forced to take the long way round and they hit it at exactly the same time.

"You!" She exclaimed, raising her wand but she wasn't fast enough. He had transformed and grabbed her, pulling her behind the statue of the one-eyed witch, clamping his hand over her mouth just as the sound of feet and laughter past them. She struggled against his hold whilst he painfully pried her wand from her finger.

"You are starting to grate on my nerves, Eve." Black's strangled voice croaked in her ear, his breathing ragged and tense. "Tell me, are you stupid?" Her voice came out muffled and unintelligible because his hand was over her mouth. He removed it.

"Clearly not as stupid as you." She replied, spitting on the ground. "I warned you –"

"I don't have time to listen to some girl's ramblings on something she knows nothing about." He replied cuttingly and she grew tired of their situation.

With a swift move, she was out of his arms and had grabbed his neglected, bony arm, twisting it, his body moving with the force of it, until she had him pressed up against the wall, his chest pressed into it, her other hand between his shoulder blades. She could snap him like a twig. The strength that coursed through her veins wasn't like others. Hers had the touch of the moon about it and her heart picked up pace as she gave over to it, just remaining in control, everything falling into clearer clarity.

She could hear his ragged, almost fearful, breathing; the breath rattling around in his hollow chest, along with the thud-thud-thud of his heart. She could hear the distant sounds of the search for him beginning. Her nose could smell him, beneath the filth that he was caked in; she could smell the never changing strong smell of masculinity, slightly smoky and spicy. Everything was clearer than it had ever been and he seemed to realise that she could kill him before he knew what she was doing and his entire body still, occasionally twitching.

"You're a werewolf." He said it as a statement, as though he had worked everything out and she smiled, feral-like, shaking her head, despite the fact that he couldn't see her.

"No." It was blunt and to the point, just like the wolfish instincts and behaviour inside of her. "This is just a side effect of having a werewolf for a father. Pretty useful, wouldn't you say?"

"Yeah, very." He winced, trying to move his arm but deciding against it when she tightened her grip. "Alright, let go."

"I'm not done talking yet." She replied, pressing against the back of his body. "You're a murderer and a traitor –" his body struggled against hers but she held firm. "And I won't let you hurt Harry Potter."

"I don't –" he began but she cut him off.

"Aha!" She cried. "I'm talking. You know…I could hand you over to the Dementors so easily right now. Let my dad finally put to rest his demons."

"You won't." He replied hoarsely, sounding confident. "You're your father's daughter. You can't hand me over to the Dementors without a life time of guilt."

"I'll live with it." She said, pulling him back and pulling him towards the statue but she lost her footing at he took advantage, spinning and knocking her flat onto her back.

She hit the ground hard, dragging him down with her, and they fell in a tangle of limbs, each trying desperately to get the advantage. She felt her lip split and a lump forming on the back of her head. She drew her knee up sharply into the pit of his stomach before he managed to grab her wrists, pinning them above her head, pressing heavily on her. He was above her and, for a brief moment, she saw a flash of the man that he had used to be before the haunted, gaunt appearance took precedent.

"Enough!" He growled roughly, sunken eyes boring down into her. "Enough. I don't want to hurt you so leave."

"I can't just stand aside and let you leave." She whispered imploringly and he seemed almost sympathetic towards her plight.

"Then I'm sorry." He replied honestly and she felt a blinding pain across her jaw and as she fell into dark oblivion, she realised that he had hit her.

Sirius kneeled above her, looking down at his best friend's daughter. Even now, months after he had discovered that his only surviving friend had a child, he still couldn't wrap his mind around it. _Eve_. She had a beautiful name and she was devastatingly beautiful. He felt guilty for the vivid bruise that was spreading across her jaw. She looked like a female Remus with high cheekbones, almond shaped chocolate eyes and the same damn smile. The only difference between father and daughter, despite the obvious gender difference, were the colour of their hair. Her father had sandy brown, edging towards grey in recent years, but his daughter had the most incredible rich brown hair. He reached out slowly and picked up a strand of her hair, feeling just how soft it was. It felt like silk between his fingers and he groaned. He had never felt anything so soft and after Azkaban it felt incredible. He wondered who her mother was. All he could see in her was Remus and Slyvia Lupin. He couldn't see anything other than the Lupin family influence on her.

He tenderly brushed her hair from her elfin face, trailing his fingers across her developing bruise. His mind was filled with thoughts of a life that could have been. James and Lily were alive and Harry knew his parents and possible siblings; they would have been there for Remus when he discovered that he had a child; Eve would have been raised with aunts and uncles and cousins. He may have his own children. Then the cold reality of life came crashing back down onto him and his fingers lingered on her cheek, tracing the shape of her nose and the curve of her lips, some of her lipstick coming off onto his fingers. James and Lily may be dead. Remus may believe him to be a traitor but that didn't mean the children had to suffer. Harry and Eve. Eve and Harry. The two children he should have been involved with from the beginning.

Reaching for her wand, it felt a trickle of warmth slip into his arm through his fingers, palm and hand. He was tempted to take it and have a wand for the first time in twelve years but Remus looked as though he was still struggling financially, although his daughter looked better off than he did. Wands were always expensive. He tucked the wand into the pocket of her jeans and looked at her with a soft smile that made him look decades younger, tucking a lock of her hair behind her ear before brushing a kiss with his chapped, dry, damaged lips across her forehead before disappearing down the tunnel, transforming as he moved.

"Professor Lupin! Professor Lupin!" Remus turned; wand raised, to see the Weasley twins jogging towards him, concerned looks on their faces.

Remus liked the twins. They reminded him of his own years at Hogwarts and his friends, during the good times before everything had gone to hell. Pranksters by heart and knowing Hogwarts inside and out, nearly, and always good for a laugh. He had never seen them look so concerned and he felt his stomach tense at the looks on their faces. They skidded to a stop before him and exchanged a look that communicated silently.

"You two should get to the Great Hall." Remus told them, holding the light from the end of his wand aloft. "Quickly."

"It's about Eve, sir." Fred said anxiously, shifting from one foot to the other and a dark look crossed his face. "She…we were the first to see the slashed portrait. She went after Black."

"For fuck's sake!" Remus exclaimed, startling the two students. "Has she come back?"

"No." George replied, shaking his head nervously. "It's been almost an hour."

"I am going to kill her." He breathed, stalking off down the corridor, managing to shout over his shoulder for them to get to the Great Hall. She had promised him!

Eve's head pounded as she stumbled from the hidden tunnel behind the statue of the one-eyed witch, her jaw throbbing and the back of her head fiercely angry. She sank to the ground, leaning against the wall, drawing in deep breaths to quell the nauseous feeling in her stomach. Her head span but when she dropped it, resting her forehead on her drawn up knees, she felt markedly better, letting her body settle before she felt someone heave her to her feet and she groaned warningly, turning away and throwing up all that she had eaten that night, her body shaking with exhaustion and a much gently arm came around her, vanishing the vomit.

"Dad?" She murmured before passing out against his chest and Remus swore under his breath, scooping her up into his arms easily. He would tell her off the next day.


	5. Chapter 5

For the next few days, Sirius Black was the conversation on everyone's lips

For the next few days, Sirius Black was the conversation on everyone's lips. Everyone and anyone was theorising how he had gotten inside of the school with the Dementors everywhere. Eve was the only one not talking about it, the dressing down that she had received from her father still stung in her mind. He was never one to lose his temper, let alone with her, but he had been absolutely furious and had threatened to revoke her Hogsmeade privileges, along with Quidditch and everything else that she enjoyed. Mercifully, McGonagall had been passing by to check on her when she heard the threat to remove her from the team and succeeded in talking Remus out of it and calming him down. She had never seen him so disappointed in her and she regretted her hasty decision to chase after Black.

The weeks got progressively worse with the news that Gryffindor would not be playing Slytherin in the first game of the Quidditch season but rather Hufflepuff, due to the Slytherin Seeker, Draco Malfoy, milking his injury for all that he was worth. Madam Pomefry could fix a scratch in a heartbeat; everyone knew that he was just playing on the injury so that Slytherin didn't have to play in appalling weather. Gryffindor had beat Hufflepuff on many occasions before and Eve was confidant that they could beat them again, even with the weather steadily worsening.

On the morning of the match, Eve woke up to a heavy gale pounding against the windows of her dormitory and she stared out of it with a glum expression on her face. Quidditch was never cancelled because of the weather. She had a steaming hot shower before slowly dressing, tightening her hair securely out of her face, a single plait running around her head in an oval shape to keep it in place. She pinned the front pieces back with grips and dabbed some cocoa butter onto her lips and smoothed moisturiser into her hands before pulling on her red and gold uniform with LUPIN and 2 printed in gold on the back of the red material. She met the rest of the team down in the common room, each of them dressed in their pre-match clothes, brooms in their hands. Oliver was looking absolutely sick and she took him by the arm, leading him down to the Great Hall.

"Get some toast inside of you, Oliver." Eve commanded, pushing some dry toast before their captain. "You need something. That goes for the rest of you. Get something hot inside of you."

She managed to eat five mouthfuls of hot porridge before giving up, staring out of the window at the atrocious conditions. They would be lucky to stay on their brooms, let alone play a decent game of Quidditch. Eventually, they followed Oliver out of the Great Hall, her father watching her leave, a cautious expression on his face. Every paternal bone in his body was screaming for him to stop her playing but he knew that she could handle herself and he had never actually see her play a game of Quidditch since she was twelve and he had come to see her first game as Gryffindor Chaser.

They were already soaked by the time that they reached the changing rooms and they shed their clothes and changed in silence, the chill of the changing rooms creeping into their very souls. Eve tied her black boots up tightly, lacing her legs tightly within them and pulling her Chaser gloves onto her hands, fingerless before buttoning up her scarlet robes, the white trousers tucked into her boots. She leaned against a wall, closing her eyes, the howl of the wind all that she could hear. Oliver tried to speak several times but all that left his throat was an odd, strangled sound and Eve felt like crying as Harry looked to her desperately, fearing that he wouldn't be able to see the Snitch. She held her hand out to him and squeezed his.

At Oliver beckoning them to follow him, they exited the changing rooms. She was blown sideways and hurried to correct her footing, the wind the strongest that she had ever played in. Thunder and lightening cracked and rumbled in the sky as the Hufflepuff team, dressed in canary yellow robes, led by their new captain, Cedric Diggory, approached them and shook hands with Oliver, who looked sick. Eve saw Madam Hooch mouth the words to mount their brooms and she did, gripping the wood tightly to hold it steady in the wind, pushing off from the wet ground.

The game had started. Eve shot forwards, catching the red Quaffle from the air and speeding off down towards the Hufflepuff goals, Angelina and Katie in formation either side of her and she hurled the Quaffle to Katie, who only managed to catch the Quaffle with the tips of her fingers due to the powerful wind carrying it. She passed to Angelina who passed back to Eve, who ducked a Bludger that was wobbling precariously as it hurtled towards her, before shooting for the goal and scoring. She was already soaked through to the bone and the water pouring down her face was obscuring her vision.

She managed to score once more and Gryffindor were fifty points up by the time that Oliver called for a time out. She almost cried out with relief, stretching her stiff fingers out, landing messily in between the Weasley twins, soaking the bottom of her robes in wet mud. No one could hear anything above the roaring of the wind and Oliver looked as though he could have kissed Hermione when she placed an Impervious Charm on Harry's glasses, so that they deflected water. They were back in the air, full of fresh determination, which ended abruptly for Eve when a Bludger impacted with her chest, sending her flying from her broom, which Angelina managed to catch. She hit the muddy ground, which had only been ten or so feet beneath her, and her team was by her in a second, pulling her back onto her feet. She was dripping in mud, her ribs aching but they didn't feel broken. She waved their concern away and was back on her broom and back in the air quickly.

The weather was only worsening. She managed to score again and when she was turning her broom around, she saw the silhouette of a large shaggy black dog, sitting in the uppermost empty stands, watching the match. She scowled. Sirius Black had some nerve. Then, all of a sudden, everything went cold and silent, an unnatural chill piercing the dark day. Her mother's voice sounded in her head, yelling at her, her sobs echoing through her mind and she squeezed her eyes shut against the memories, remembering her father's smile and his face. She opened her eyes and screamed. Hundreds of Dementors had swarmed the pitch and she reached for her wand but she didn't have it. A wave of silver light, led by an impressive phoenix, flooded the pitch, beating the Dementors back but she saw a falling body, tumbling gracefully through the air towards the wet, muddy ground.

"HARRY!" She screamed, pressing herself against the body of her broom, pushing forwards.

She wouldn't reach him in time. Harry suddenly started to slow down and she saw Dumbledore stood majestically in the rain, his wand pointed at Harry, slowing his descent and Eve grasped hold of the back of his robes, straining her arms so that she could lower him to the ground. She tumbled from her broom, kneeling next to him, rolling him over onto her back. She watched as Cedric landed, the Snitch held firmly in his fist and she felt a wave of disappointment. Gryffindor had lost. His eyes locked on Harry and he immediately began demanding a rematch. She smiled softly. He was honourable. She tried to shake Harry awake, rain pouring down onto them, the team gathering around him, heads bent, Oliver looking as though his world had ended.

Suddenly, Harry was floating beneath her hands and rising up until he was level with her head and she looked around to see Professor McGonagall levitating him. Eve got to her feet heavily and watched as their Seeker was levitated away up to the castle. Oliver let out something that sounded remarkably like a strangled sob, walking away from them and Eve leaned disappointedly against George, who wrapped his arms around her, their mud coalescing. None of them cared that it was still raining; they just stood there, feeling the disappointment at losing the match wash over them.

"Where's Potter's broom?" Angelina suddenly asked and Eve raised her head before she pressed her hand over her mouth, watching Madam Hooch walk towards them, carrying splinters.

"Sweet Merlin." Fred breathed, following her eyes. "Oliver is going to kill himself."

They trekked up to the castle, Eve carrying Harry's destroyed Nimbus 2000 in her arms, bursting into the Hospital Wing against Madam Pomefry's wishes, gathering around Harry's bed, who looked desperately pale. There was no harm done to him, thankfully, apart from the pounding disappointment of losing to _Hufflepuff_. Madam Pomefry kicked the team out after ten minutes and Eve found herself glad that she wouldn't be the one to tell Harry about his broom. She submerged herself in the hottest bath that she could have, washing the mud from her and trying to warm up her ice-cold body. Only when her skin had started to wrinkle did she pull herself out, dress and go to visit her father, who beckoned her into his sanctuary, sitting her down in front of the roaring fire, covering her in a blanket.

"Black was at the match." Eve said, cradling a mug of _hot_, hot chocolate between her still trembling hands. He glanced up at her and waited. "In the stands. I saw him. He was just watching the match. It was strange. Azkaban really must have addled his brains if he's still staying close by."

"Who knows what goes on in his mind?" Remus replied, sitting down on the sofa, reclining before changing the subject. "Is Harry okay?"

"Fine." She answered. "Bit peaky; his broom was destroyed, which probably hurt him the most, not to mention the fact that we lost out to the Hufflepuffs." She sighed heavily, blowing on her drink. "Still, I wouldn't have been able to face anyone if we'd lost to the Slytherins."

"It's always refreshing to know that some things don't change." He told her, sipping at his own drink. "I remember James saying almost the exact same thing after Gryffindor had lost to Ravenclaw. As long as we didn't lose to Slytherin, everything would be okay."

"I wish I could have played against him." Eve said musingly, surprising her father. She never wished for anything out loud, let alone conversations or activities with a dead man. "See who's the better Chaser, you know."

"He would have liked that as well." Remus replied with a hint of sadness. "With you and Harry, he had the makings of his very own Quidditch team." He reached out and tucked a lock of her damp hair behind her ear affectionately, cupping her cheek tenderly and she smiled softly. "He and Lily would have loved you."

She blushed softly and raised her mug to her lips again, the thick, chocolate liquid entering her mouth, rolling down her throat and settling warmly into the pit of her stomach. Christmas was fast approaching and she would be spending it at Hogwarts with her father for the first time since she had started the school, normally returning home each year for the festive season. The full moon, however, was on Christmas Day, and Eve knew from experience that her father would not be good company or up to much for the hours leading up to the full moon so they would be celebrating Christmas on Christmas Eve, the day before.

Eve woke up on Christmas morning to the sound of Ron yelling at Hermione's cat, Crookshanks, once again. She groaned and tried to block out the sounds of the day but to no avail, she was awake. She rubbed her eyes in her pillow, having gotten to sleep late last night, having spent the whole day with her father and talking well into the night with him. He had given her the most beautiful gold charm bracelet and she rolled over in her bed to look at it on her nightstand, smiling happily to herself. It really was beautiful. She pushed herself up and looked to the small pile of presents that sat on the end of her bed from her friends.

Oliver had gotten her something Quidditch related…again. _The Good Captain's Guide to Quidditch_. She smiled. It looked like it was his old, much used copy. He was bequeathing it to her for the next year. Fred and George had gotten her a bag of dungbombs and a bar of chocolate, as well as a present that exploded slime in her face when she opened it. It had taken her half an hour to clean it off. There was the annual Christmas card and chocolate from Harry. There was also another present, one that had no nametag, a nicely wrapped silver box. She sat crossed legged on her bed as she pulled the paper off, running her hands over the white surface of the cardboard before pulling the top off, curious as to what was inside, peeling away layers of tissue paper.

Her breath caught in her throat.

Nestled in a cloud of pale pink tissue, with tags still attached, was a brand new dress. Though it looked completely ordinary, Eve knew that the dress was one of the finest dresses made by a French designer, which had a very exclusive store in the rich avenue of Diagon Alley. She had never been down the avenue but Eve knew all about _the_ dress. The dress that was right before her. It was made of thousands of strands of woven unicorn hair and the style, colour and size changed with the wearer's desire. The dress was incredibly expensive. The price tag of the dress was enough money to ensure that her father didn't have to worry about a job for at least five years. There wasn't a single dress like the one before her eyes. It was one of a kind.

She reached out a trembling hand and gasped as the colour changed before her eyes so that it was a brilliant ruby red, the soft, silky material changing. She unfolded her legs and climbed off of her bed, reaching into the box and removing the dress carefully, standing in front of the full-length mirror, holding it up against her slender frame. She had never touched something so delicate and expensive before. She bit her bottom lip, looking at her reflection, before tossing her pyjamas off and slipping the dress on over her head.

The material started moving softly around her body, shaping around her and styling. She felt it tighten around her waist and push beneath her breasts, the skirt of the dress flooding around her, flowing elegantly. She felt it dip deep down her back and tiny, beaded straps appeared on her shoulder and she looked at herself in the mirror. The gangly teenaged girl that she was vanished before her eyes and in her place, a tall, elegant, beautiful woman appeared before her. She turned around, peering over her shoulder, and saw that all of her back was bare, the material curved just above the small of her back. She felt wonderful and beautiful.

Her face suddenly fell as she paused in admiring herself, thinking of what her father would feel if he knew about the dress. She ran a trembling hand over the silken material on her skirt, wondering who would send her such a dress, when she heard Harry calling for her. Forgetting what she was wearing, she slipped out of her dormitory and Harry's eyes widened as he looked at her, forgetting what he wanted. Ron turned around whilst addressing her and his words trailed off in a stunned stutter. She looked down and blushed.

"Christmas present." She replied in embarrassment, folding her arms across her chest and raising her hand to her chin, hiding her cleavage. "What do you want?"

"Oh…um…I-I got this." Harry spluttered, vividly red in the face. He thrust a Firebolt into her hands.

"A Firebolt!" She exclaimed with wide eyes. "Damn!" She ran her fingers reverently over the polished wand. "My God, I can feel it vibrating. Who sent this to you? Can I kiss them? Oliver is going to be ecstatic!"

"There was no note." Harry said, managing to untangle his tongue, unlike his friend who was staring unabashedly at Eve, a trail of drool coming through his mouth. Harry still couldn't look at her face there, staring over her shoulder and past her when he spoke.

"No note?" _Sirius Black_. Her fingers twitched near her dress. "Harry, I want you to do me a favour? Visit my dad sometime this holiday and show him the Firebolt, just to make sure that there's nothing wrong with it. This is the best broom in the world. Just…be careful, alright? I'm going to go and change. See you at lunch."

She hot up the stairs and shed the dress instantly, throwing it onto her bed and covering her mouth with her hand, feeling dirty. Why would Sirius Black spend _so_ much money on a Firebolt and a dress on her and Harry? The Firebolt was obvious. It would be easy to curse the broom and have it throw Harry off during a Quidditch match but he had no reason to buy her an expensive dress. She stared at it, as though expecting it to leap out at her and strangle her, but it lay there harmlessly. A traitorous thought wormed its way into her mind.

_What if..?_

Black had had the chance to kill her that afternoon on her birthday but he had let her bed. He could have slit her throat that very evening, before she had screamed for help. He could have followed her during her first Hogsmeade visit and killed her in a dark alley. He could have killed her on Halloween as well when she had been foolish enough to follow him but he had left her relatively unharmed and still armed. He had said that she wouldn't understand.

_What if Sirius Black was innocent?_


	6. Chapter 6

After the Christmas holidays, Eve found that she couldn't tell her father about her Christmas present from Sirius Black

After the Christmas holidays, Eve found that she couldn't tell her father about her Christmas present from Sirius Black. Instead, she hid the present under her bed, attempting to forget about it, but it was harder to forget about Harry's Firebolt. McGonagall had confiscated it and, if the rumours were correct, stripping it down to search for curses and hexes and dark magic. That in itself was sacrilege and Eve found herself getting quieter and quieter about her secret dress beneath her bed. Even though she didn't know what she wanted to do with it, she knew that she didn't want it poked and prodded by people checking for enchantments. It was hers and she didn't want anyone else to touch it.

It helped that she was very busy during January and February with schoolwork, tutoring and Quidditch sessions. She had a sudden influx of O.W.L students, begging for her time to help them with this spell or that potion and even Hermione Granger had come to her in tears, shaking as she held out her Ancient Runes essay that she just didn't understand. Eve had no idea how the third year was taking so many lessons and remaining sane. She was taking all of the subjects on offer and Eve had maxed her choices off during her third, four and fifth year and she had had a minor breakdown but Hermione's timetable was just ridiculous.

To Oliver's relief, oddly, Slytherin beat Ravenclaw by a narrow margin. It meant that Gryffindor would take second place if they beat Ravenclaw. He upped their training sessions and Eve ached all over permanently but she felt quite happy. There had been no more sightings of Sirius Black; although she knew that he was still close by – she was just staying on top of her schoolwork and the weather was finally clearing, azure skies visible for the first time in month. The grounds were drying out and she felt in a good mood, which was only enhanced when Harry got his Firebolt back and it had not been tampered with.

_Maybe Black really did mean no harm…_

"Eve!" She turned in the middle of a busy corridor on the morning of the Gryffindor vs. Ravenclaw match, dressed in her red and gold pre-match suit and saw her father jogging up the corridor to her. She smiled widely.

"Hey, dad." She grinned, hugging him back when he embraced her between his arms. "Long time no see. I thought you'd forgotten you even have a daughter."

"Funny." Remus smiled at her, slipping an arm around her shoulders as they walked towards the Great Hall. "Just wanted to wish you luck for the match. Better weather."

"Too right." Eve perked up. The weather was absolutely perfect for flying conditions, unlike their last match. "Are you going to be watching?"

"I am." He agreed. "Harry's using his Firebolt today, isn't he?"

"Yeah, oh, dad! You should see him on it!" She exclaimed, shining eyes. "Gryffindor is never going to _not_ catch the Snitch with Harry on that thing! We are going to wipe the floor with Ravenclaw."

"You have a concerning streak of violence within you." Remus mused and she laughed, punching him lightly in the shoulder. "Ow!"

"Oh, get over it, you big baby." She laughed. "I barely touched you!"

"You're stronger than you look, remember?" He replied and she had the good grace to look sheepish before they entered the Great Hall and he kissed the top of her head before pushing her towards the Gryffindor table.

"Good morning!" Eve sang, swinging herself into her seat, ruffling Harry's hair and he blushed again. He had been blushing a lot whenever she was in his presence and Ron couldn't even look at her without choking on his own tongue. She looked around at all of the people admiring the Firebolt. "Peaceful breakfast, huh?"

At quarter to eleven, the team left for the Quidditch pitch. The entire atmosphere was different. The weather was spectacular and the ground springy but firm. There was a gentle breeze and Eve changed into her rooms with a happy demeanour. She could actually hear the rest of the school filling into the stands and she pulled her hair up into a swift ponytail, eyeing Harry's Firebolt deliriously. Their game would be fantastic. They walked out onto the pitch to tumultuous applause and Eve saw that Cho Chang, the Ravenclaw Seeker and a girl two years her junior, was the only girl on the team and that Harry went slightly glassy-eyed when looking at her.

"Oi, Potter." She poked him in the back and he turned around, surprised, blushing. He did that a lot. "Don't go doe-eyed over her. She's the enemy."

He had to smile at that as they mounted their broom and the game started quickly. Angelina beat the Ravenclaw Chasers to the Quaffle and the three of them flew down the pitch, tossing the Quaffle back and forth between them before Katie was close enough to score. Having a Firebolt on the team made all of the difference. Their confidence level just soared and Ravenclaw stood no chance. Eve punched the air when she scored her first goal of that game, her father's face in the crowd, beaming at her and she waggled her fingers at him. Even the commentary, provided by Lee Jordan, boosted them further.

"And Lupin scores her first goal of the game!" Jordan commented as she zoomed back into position. "Eve Lupin, daughter of our very own Defence professor, is tipped to become Gryffindors next captain in her final year. She has been on the team for five years and has never failed to score a goal in a single match and she is on form today! Then again, with a body like hers –"

Eve wasn't sure whether it was her father or Professor McGonagall who cuffed Jordan hard around the head to stop his train of speech and she flew backwards, blowing him a kiss, before catching the Quaffle smoothly, hurling it through the left-most hoop. She was flying away from the hoop when something white and enormous hurtled beneath her feet and she looked down, distracted to see it plough into three hooded…_students_? A sudden roar from the crowd made her look up, snapping up quickly, and delight filled her face as she saw Harry holding the snitch in his hand and she flew over towards him, hugging him in mid air, kissing his face excitedly, five scarlet blurs descending on them, dragging them all to the ground, where they collapsed, laughing ecstatically.

"We're in the final!" Oliver exclaimed, grabbing Eve and lifting her into his arms, hugging her tightly as she laughed.

"Get off, you daft sod!" She grinned widely, eyes sparkling, slapping his shoulder and he kissed her neck. She thought he was aiming for her cheek but missed.

"Oliver! Eve! Stop snogging!" Fred yelled over to them and Eve flicked her finger up at him. "Party in the common room!"

"Go, have fun." Her father said when she turned around to seek him out and she smiled widely at him, raising her hand above her hand and grabbing Oliver, pulling him up the hill towards the castle, stumbling as they laughed.

It felt as though they'd already won the Quidditch Cup as the party lasted all day and went on well into the night with Fred and George providing food and drink from Hogsmeade. The Gryffindor team, Harry in particular, were treated like heroes and the Firebolt was reverently passed from hand to hand. Oliver was excitedly telling anyone who would listen how Gryffindor was going to win the Quidditch Cup that year and, for the first time, Eve actually felt that they could win it. The party ended when McGonagall showed up in her tartan gown and hair net, insisting that they all go to bed.

"Here." Eve looked around in surprise when she found Oliver holding her wand, which she was looking for and she smiled at him, taking it as the rest of their house trooped up to their beds, talking and laughing. "You played well today."

"Thanks." She smiled, tucking her wand into her jeans. "We've got a real chance at winning this year. I think we can actually do it."

"I hope so." He replied, burying his hands in the pockets of his trousers. She watched him curiously. He was never so shy around her. They had been friends for nearly five years, one of her closest in fact. "Eve, I…"

"Yes?" She asked, waiting for him to speak and she was taken aback when she felt his lips press against her, his soap drifting up into her senses. She blinked in surprise as he pulled back, looking _very_ nervous. "Oh."

He looked so nervous and terrified that a mad part of her wanted to laugh. The person who was so decisive and confidant on the Quidditch pitch was anxious about kissing her. The other part of her, the part that took over, stepped towards him and kissed him back, fingers curling in his jumper. His lips were rough and hot against hers, his arms encircling her and her lips parted tentatively when his tongue drifted across her bottom lip and they touched and stroked, her fingers sliding up into his hair as he pulled her closer to him. She had never actually kissed anyone properly before and Oliver seemed just as hesitant as she was but when they broke the kiss, it felt okay. He smiled at her nervously and she smiled back at him, reaching for his hand and lacing their fingers together, nodding reassuringly.

They stayed up, on the sofa by the fire, talking and occasionally kissing. Neither of them noticed the portrait hole opening and the tall, slightly slumped, emaciated form of Sirius Black enter cautiously. He glanced over at the sofa and looked amused, tilting his head, long, silver knife held in his hand, watching his old friend's daughter kiss another student, her legs on either side of his waist. He almost chuckled to himself as he walked on, so close to Peter Pettigrew, he could almost taste it. He would take great pleasure in telling Moony about his daughter's extra-curricular activity. Eve, he was sure, could be delightful but she kept getting in his way.

"I like this." Oliver murmured, tracing faint patterns on her bare back, beneath her shirt and she smiled.

"More than Quidditch?" Eve teased and he laughed, reaching up and kissing her jaw, looking undecided.

"I don't know." He actually sounded torn and she laughed at him, dropping a quick kiss onto his lips.

"I'm just teasing you." She replied with a slow grin and just as their lips were about to touch again, the most god-awful scream of horror and fear shot down from the boy's dormitory.

"What the hell was that?" Oliver asked, pushing her from him, holding her hips as they looked towards the staircase where Sirius Black descended. "OH GOD!"

"YOU!" Eve roared, her reaction markedly different from Oliver's, which had fear in his tone whilst Eve's had pure anger. She plunged her hand into her skirt and brandished her wand but Black lunged for her, forcefully pushing Oliver so hard that his head cracked on the mantelpiece, falling unconscious to the hearth whilst clamping his hand over her mouth…_again_ and pulling her from the common room.

"Run, Lupin!" He hissed in her ear, pushing her forwards, pulling her into an alcove when McGonagall hurried past them, tying her tartan robe in frustration. He pushed her forwards and she tripped over her feet whilst he relieved her of her wand. "Sorry about this, kid."

He pointed her own wand at her and stunned her. Her body went limp against his and he quickly threw her over his shoulder, running as fast as he could. He managed to get out of the castle and into Hogsmeade without anyone noticing him and in Hogsmeade he managed to get to a cave that he knew but didn't stay in. The Shrieking Shack was where he stayed, as no students dared go into it and it would be the last place that anyone would look for him. He didn't want Eve knowing where he stayed though.

Managing to get them both through the narrow opening, grateful that Eve was quite slender, he gently laid her down on the ground, rolling his eyes over her. She wore a pretty floral skirt that barely touched mid thigh and a simple white T-shirt with canvas shoes, which looked well worn. He reached out and hesitated before quickly smoothing her skirt down so that she was showing less leg before he sat back, holding her wand, waiting for her to wake up. He didn't want to wake her up, as that would mean getting close to her and she was significantly stronger than he was physically. He still ached from their last meeting. He closed his eyes and prayed that Moony would forgive him when the truth came out.

Up at the castle, Remus was in a fury, filled with panic and anger. A student had been sent for him instantly and his daughter, once again, was in the company of Sirius Black. It was bad enough that Black wanted to kill Harry but to harm his daughter as well? He drew in a shuddering breath to steady his being. His daughter was a bright, intelligent, _strong_ witch and she would find a way home. He knew she would. He had to believe that she would. He would also kill his old friend when he got his hands on him. He sat in his private quarters, his favourite picture of his daughter held in his hands, looking down at her beautiful face.

He had taken it shortly after she had turned fifteen and she had been caught off-guard. She looked very peaceful and melancholic, pushing herself on the swing in their local park, her legs stretched out before her, hair fluttering in the wind, her body set against a sky of blue and lustrous green surroundings. He brushed his fingers over the picture and closed his eyes, a single tear trickling down his cheek. He couldn't stand this, not knowing whether his daughter was okay or not. She was his everything. Without her, he would have given up on life a long time ago. He needed her as much as he needed to breathe.

"If you hurt her, Sirius." He muttered, scrubbing at his wet face, fingers tightening around the picture frame.

Black tapped her wand against his palm, watching her breathe in and out slowly and steadily, just watching her. Remus did have a very beautiful daughter. He felt guilty for thinking about Eve like that. She had said that she was sixteen. Even he could do mental arithmetic, meaning that Remus had become a father at seventeen, which meant he could easily have been her father. With his promiscuity at Hogwarts, he was actually surprised that he hadn't been made a father. Remus had always been the careful, conscientious one and yet he had ended up being the first father out of the three of them. He smiled softly to himself. They had always joked Remus would be the best father.

A low groan had him refocusing all of his attention on her and he saw her stirring. She raised a heavy hand to her head and, pushing herself up onto one elbow, wincing at the feel of the rough ground beneath her and she glanced around before her eyes settled on him. She didn't scream and he didn't know why he was surprised. She didn't seem to be the screaming type of girl. The look that passed across her face amused him, along with her muttered comment of exasperation. It was as though being kidnapped by a mass murderer was a regular occurrence for her. Although, lately, it was certainly becoming a regular thing. She pushed herself up, leaning with her back against the rough wall, watching him with empty eyes as though weighing something up. He had seen the look in her father's eyes often enough to know what it meant. It was just odd to have Remus's eyes staring at him from a female form.

"You've outdone yourself this time, Black." Eve commented dryly. "Kidnapping the daughter of a Hogwarts teacher. Congratulations."

"Are you hungry?" He asked hoarsely, ignoring her sarcastic tone. She merely shook her head.

"So, what's your fantastic plan?" She asked him, glancing around the cave, eyes scanning for a way out. "Are you going to kill me?"

"No. No, I'm not going to kill you." He replied, sounding strangled and she smoothly arched an eyebrow at him.

"Rape me then?" She threw him with that one and colour stained his face, choking on his own breath and a sly grin slid across his face. "You can't be surprised that I've asked. You've kidnapped me. Stunned me. Carried me out of Hogwarts and have ensconced me in a cave God only knows what. You can't just want conversation."

"I _want_ for you to be quiet." He croaked at her, pointing her wand at the fire he had got going to spread more warmth through the cave.

"Maybe you shouldn't have brought me here then." She said sarcastically and he shot a stinging hex at her. She scowled at him, rubbing her arm where the hex had connected with her. "May I have my wand back?"

"No you may not." He replied mockingly before motioning to her scowling face. "You keep that up and it will freeze that way."

"Oh, fuck off." She muttered beneath her breath, crossing her ankles and folding her arms beneath her chest, inadvertently pushing her breasts higher up and his eyes drifted down towards them. Her sound of disgust made him realise she had seen him looking. "Murdering pervert."

"Do you have any self-preservation?" He growled at her and she shrugged. "Just sit there and be quiet…for once."

Eve watched her captor poking at the fire with her wand, the orange glow making his face look eerie. She could see just how he would have been had he not suffered twelve years in Azkaban. Even though her father had no pictures of him that he had shown her, when she had been nosey one day when she was thirteen, she had been charged with tidying the attic. Sirius Black had been a devastatingly handsome man. It was hard to link the man she had seen in her father's hidden pictures to the man before her, the putrid smell rising from his body and drifting towards her. He eventually got frustrated with her eyes never wavering from his and he looked up in frustration.

"Why did you do it?" She asked, not meaning to ask that question. She had been planning on asking why he had sent Harry a Firebolt and her the most beautiful dress that she had ever touched, let alone owned. "Why did you betrayed the Potters?"

"I didn't." He replied quietly but hoarsely and she looked away in disbelief. "But I may have well done." Even though she wasn't looking at him, he knew that she was listening. "It's true. James asked me to be their Secret Keeper and I agreed...at first.

"I was the obvious choice. James's best friend, Harry's Godfather…_family_. It was why I told James and Lily that it would be best to change their Secret Keeper, in secret, not even Dumbledore would know. They suggested your father but I didn't trust him, not then. We knew that there was a spy in our ranks and I thought Remus…he was a werewolf, spending his days with Greyback's pack, I didn't trust him. I suggested Peter Pettigrew.

"Who would have suspected little Peter? The weak friend. The overlooked friend. He was the perfect choice. Voldemort and his Death Eaters would come after me. I would be tortured and possibly killed but Peter would be alive to protect them. Except it wasn't your father who was the traitor. It was Peter. The rat had been a Death Eater for nearly a year and he was biding his time, cowering in the protection of the biggest bully in the playground. One week after the swap was performed, Peter gave the address to Voldemort. One week after I made the biggest mistake of my life, James and Lily were dead and Harry orphaned."

Eve had given up pretences of not listening to him and was watching him and listening to him intently. Either he was a very good liar or he was telling the truth. He trembled as he recalled what had happened years before and his eyes filled with emotion, a lump forming in his throat. The wolf side of her was normally very good at weeding out liars but he didn't seem as though he was lying. He kept talking, looking up at her suddenly, great, huge, pained eyes staring imploring into hers, pleading with her to understand. She went light headed under their intensity.

"Harry was gone. Dumbledore ordered him to be taken to Lily's sister, Petunia. I thought I'd lost my Godson. Everything, in one night, had fallen apart. I wanted revenge. So I went after Peter. I found him, on a Muggle street in London, and I confronted him. We argued but it turned out that he was smarter than anyone gave him credit for. He suddenly started yelling '_James and Lily, Sirius! How could you?'_ and when I drew my wand, for the first time he was faster, and he blew the street up. He cut off his own finger, you see, and transformed into a rat, disappearing into the sewers. He's the one who betrayed James and Lily and he's at Hogwarts right now."

Eve looked at him, really looked at him, straight in the eyes, searching for anything that would tell her he was lying but she couldn't see anything. She still didn't trust him but the seed of doubt that had appeared in her mind over Christmas grew. She bit her bottom lip as he watched her, hoping for some kind of positive reaction. Everything she knew about what had happened was coming into question; all the stories that her father had told her about the great Peter Pettigrew suddenly paled and everything that she had heard about Black was called into question.

"I'm not saying that I believe you," she said carefully and he looked at her like a young child, "but I'm going to ask you some questions and I want you to answer them honestly." He nodded, sitting back. "How did you escape Azkaban?"

"I transformed." He answered, his voice very slowly beginning to soften with constant use, although it still shook and trembled with exhaustion. "I assume you know that I'm an animagus given the way you reacted to seeing me in Hogsmeade." A slight smile tugged at her lips, averting her eyes. "Dementors don't affect what they can't feel, which includes animals. I slipped out of the bars and managed to get out without anyone noticing."

"Why now? Why not before?" She asked and he rummaged in his robes for something before tentatively offering her a fragile ripping from a newspaper. She took it from him, unfolding it and saw a picture of the Weasley family in Egypt. "The Weasley's?"

"Look at the rat on the boy's shoulder." He croaked and she moved towards the fire, illuminating the parchment. She could just see Scabbers on Ron's shoulder.

"It's Scabbers, so what?" Eve replied and he rolled his eyes, making her press her lips together.

"Look at his paw, he's missing a toe!" Black exclaimed, pointing almost roughly. "Just as Pettigrew is missing a finger."

"Bit of a stab in the dark there, isn't it?" She queried, noticing with a sick feeling that Black was right. She held it back out to him and he took on. "Rats are a Knut in this world. The Weasley's have had Scabbers since…" her voice trailed off. Since Percy, which was an awful long time for a common garden rat. "Oh."

"Got there, did you?" He asked with a slightly brush of amusement and she snatched the clipping back, examining it closely.

"You're not after Harry." She said bluntly. "You're after Pettigrew who is in Harry's dormitory. You're protecting him." She looked up at him and relief flooded his face. Someone understood. "I…you bastard!" His eyes went wide in surprise as she reached out and punched him hard on the shoulder. It really hurt. "Why the fuck didn't you tell anyone this twelve years ago? They do have such things called Veritaserum, you know?"

"You're obviously sarcastic, unlike your father." He observed and she tilted her head at him. "Don't like that?"

"No." She replied, rubbing her cold arms and folding her legs, tucking her skirt between them. "Why did you…the dress you got me…" he suddenly avoided her eyes. "It's too expensive. I can't accept it."

"Well, it won't suit me." He shot back and she laughed, bowing her head slightly. "Keep it. Consider it sixteen years worth of birthday presents." His eyes moved over her face, still in awe. "I still can't believe Moony has a daughter."

"Nor could he." Eve replied. "He didn't know about me until I was four. My mother's fiancé didn't want to raise the daughter of a werewolf." She rolled her eyes in disgust. "So she left me with dad. I haven't seen her since. Don't really want to."

"Who is your mother?" Black asked, curious, and really wanting to know. He didn't have a lot to get him excited but the thought of who Eve's mother was definitely got him thinking.

"Still none of your business." She answered and he grinned at her, looking ten years younger. "Now, as much as I hate to cut this short, I should really get back to the castle soon. Dad's going to be sick with worry."

"Right, yeah." He replied, shaking himself out of his surprise as she rose to her knees, brushing the back of her skirt down. "Who was the boy you were straddling?"

"None of your damn business." She replied, holding out her hand for her wand, her chocolate brown hair cascading over her shoulders. She slipped it back into her skirt.

"Do you stick your tongue down everybody's throat?" He asked her and she made a disgusted face at him.

"Just when I thought you couldn't get any worse." She said in disgust before sighing. "Hit me." He blinked at her in confusion. "You need to hit me. If my story is going to have any credibility, I need to be bruised and bloody. I don't fancy running into a wall so hit me. You've done it before." He winced at the memory. "Just a punch to the face and then one to the abdomen. Don't break my nose."

"I'm not going to hit you." Black told her and she reached out and hit him, hard, across the face. His head snapped to one side. "Ow."

"Hit me!" She demanded as he rubbed his jaw, which was already bruising his pale, waxy skin. "I can take it. Do it!"

He hit her swiftly and she hit the ground hard, scraping her side, and she groaned, spitting a mouthful of blood out onto the ground, lashing her foot out and kicking him in the middle, pushing his breath from lungs. He lashed out and kicked her back before stopping and crouching by her side, tender hands helping her sit up but she waved him off, attempting to catch her breath. She managed to stick her thumb up at him, pushing herself to her feet and touching her chest carefully.

"Think you broke a rib…or two." She gasped, removing her wand, looking up at him. "See you around, Black, don't break into the castle anymore. I'll be in contact."

"Wha –?" He asked confused before she stunned him, a little harder than was necessary, and he hit the wall, slumping to the ground, unconscious.


	7. Chapter 7

"You don't have to do this, dad

"You don't have to do this, dad." Eve smiled as her father helped her, unnecessarily, into his private quarters where she would be spending the rest of the weekend, out of the public eye. "I'm fine."

"You seem to have a habit of getting tangled up with Sirius Black, sweetheart, I want you where I can see you." Remus replied, sitting her down, still relieved that she had stumbled back into the castle only two hours after she had been taken. Bruised and battered but alive. He thanked every deity he could think of that she had enhanced strength. It was definitely a bonus.

"I'm being babysat now?" She asked in amused, sitting down on the sofa. "I haven't needed one of them since I was twelve."

"Maybe if you didn't get into so much trouble." He prompted, sitting down next to her and pulling her safely into his arms, never wanting to let her go.

"I didn't actually do anything this time." Eve argued back lightly, her voice muffled by the shirt that she had received in her mouth when he pulled her into a tight hug. "He knocked Oliver out…oh my god, is Oliver alright?"

"Just a headache but he's fine." Remus told her, smoothing her hair back from her forehead, kissing it. "Which does beg the question what the two of you were doing that completely distracted you from Black's arrival in the common room?" He watched as she blushed a dark red and he smiled sadly. She was growing up. "Actually, I don't want to know. We – ah – don't need to have _The Talk_, do we?"

"Oh, gross, dad!" She whined, pushing herself away from him, looking disgusted. "No! Don't ever bring that up again!

"Good." He said, sitting uncomfortably. "But…just remember, your mother was already pregnant with you at your age."

"Please stop." She replied blandly, looking horrified and he smiled at her, cupping her chin gently.

"I love you, Eve." He told her and she smiled back at him. "I really do. I just want the best for you."

"I know, dad, I love you too." She replied, leaning back against his chest. She rested her cheek against his chest and bit her bottom lip, thinking of what Black – _no, Sirius_ – had told. "Dad? Do you…do you ever think that maybe…there's more behind the Potters betrayal than is known?" Remus frowned, looking down at her.

"What did he say to you?" He asked and she looked up at him, reminding him of the five-year-old daughter that had discovered chocolate for the first time. She bit her bottom lip.

"Just that…maybe…he's innocent." She replied cautiously and he pushed her away from him, holding her by her shoulders, examining her closely.

"Did he Confound you?" He demanded but she shook her head, even as he had his wand twirling over her.

"Dad, stop it." She said, pushing his wand away from her. "He just said some things that…that didn't corroborate with everything I already know. He told me that Peter Pettigrew is still alive." He started to stand but she grabbed his wrist and pulled him back down. "I know! It's crazy but…it made sense. You know Ron Weasley's rat, Scabbers?"

"Eve, I am not going to talk this with you." He replied firmly, with such a firmness that she fell silent immediately. "Now, what do you want for breakfast?"

"Surprise me." She murmured, falling back and looking so despondent that he softened, reaching out and brushing his fingers through her hair. She managed to smile at him as he went to seek out breakfast for them.

She didn't mention Sirius Black for the rest of the weekend with her father and she was surprisingly reluctant to part from him. Eyes were on her wherever she walked and when she entered into the Great Hall, wearing her school uniform, she felt under scrutiny, whispers breaking out all around her but the Gryffindor table quickly enveloped her into their fold, protecting her from the eyes of the hall. She filled them on quick details before keeping her head down, smiling down the table to Oliver, who smiled back down at her. Harry Potter was suddenly by her side, demanding her attention, asking her whether she was okay and whether she knew where Black was. She was not thick enough to tell Harry where the supposed person who had betrayed his parents was.

"Eve." She looked around and saw Oliver standing behind her. "Can I walk you to your first lesson?"

"Oooooooo!" Fred and George Weasley teased, leaning together like morons, only to end up with pretty pink hair, making those around them laugh, courtesy of Eve's wand. She stood up, picking up her bag and smiling to Oliver.

"I'd like that." She replied, swinging her bag over her shoulder and clipping the Weasley twins over the back of their heads on purpose. They walked out of the Great Hall together. "I've got Potions first." He nodded and they headed towards the dungeons slowly. "How's your head?"

"Fine, Madam Pomefry fixed it in a heartbeat." He answered, one hand in his pocket as he walked. "I'm sorry." She looked at him in confusion. "For not saving you from Black."

"Black's got some thing with me." She shrugged, pulling her fingers through her loose hair. "I keep getting in his way apparently. Such a shame when a mass murderer can't kill whom he wants, right? I'm just sorry you got hurt."

"Just a bruise." He replied with a reassuring smile. "Can't believe we missed him entering the common room."

"We were slightly occupied." She blushed and he mimicked her blush as well. "Which is slightly embarrassing, especially when your dad works here."

"I thought he was going to hit me when he realised what we had been doing." Oliver admitted and she grinned widely before he stopped her, placing a hand on her arm. "Do you want to go to Hogsmeade with me? For lunch. On a date?"

"I'd love to Oliver." She replied, blushing prettily, pushing her hair behind her ear, glancing down at the ground shyly. "Really."

"Good, great!" He grinned and realised that they were in the Potions corridor. He rocked back on his heels before sweeping forwards and kissed her chastely. "Excellent. I'll…see you later?" She nodded and he grinned almost stupidly before walking off.


	8. Chapter 8

Eve liked Oliver, she really did. He was a great friend, a great kisser and, of late, a great boyfriend, but she wanted to strangle him. The Quidditch Cup was the next morning and he was a nervous wreck, bent low over the models of Quidditch players that he had made out of her, now ruined, first draft Defence essay. She leaned back in her chair, writing the last paragraph to her fresh essay, listening to Oliver mutter beneath his breath, absently rubbing the sole of her foot, which seemed to calm him…oddly. She scrawled her name in the topmost corner – _E. Lupin_.

"Oliver, will you stop?" Eve requested, reaching out and catching her captain's wrist. He looked up in surprise, as though remembering that she was there. "There's nothing more that you can do until the match so just relax."

"I feel sick." He groaned, gripping his dirty blonde hair between his hands and she stroked his wrist with her thumb gently. He looked up at her and she saw just how desperately he wanted to win before he tapped her arm and stood up suddenly. "Team! Bed!"

She kissed him quickly before ascending the stairs and clapping Harry on the shoulders with a reassuring nod, wishing that they were back in the Easter Holidays where they had practiced almost non-stop. It felt better to be busy rather than waiting for the match. She tossed and turned most of the night, only managing to sleep a few hours, before showering and dressing. She flung herself down onto the sofa, a sick feeling in her stomach, as Fred and George Weasley joined her on either side, looking almost as bad as she felt.

"If we lose," Fred began morbidly, "Oliver will kill us."

"We'd best win then." Eve whispered and George nodded slowly next to her.

The entire team walked down to the Great Hall together where they were greeted by an enormous applause from Gryffindor, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw, the hisses from the Slytherin table drowned out. Oliver urged them all to eat without touching anything himself before hurrying off down to the pitch to test out the conditions, leaving his team to finish eating. Eve just pushed her food around her plate before giving up and putting her head in her hands and gripping her loose hair. She felt sick. As they left the Great Hall, there was another round of applause and Eve caught the eye of her father, who smiled reassuringly and she managed a grimace in reply.

None of them spoke as they changed into their scarlet robes. It was the first time that they had been in the final and were going to play in the final since her third year at Hogwarts and her hands trembled slightly as she buttoned up her robes, styling her hair quickly and staring at her reflection with a grim look of determination on her face. They just sat in silence, none of them moving, the sounds of the school filling into their seats excitedly washing around them. In what seemed to be no time at all, Oliver led them out onto the pitch to a tidal wave of noise. Three quarters of the crowd were wearing scarlet rosettes and scarlet clothing, waving scarlet banners whilst the two hundred Slytherin students were wearing silver and green, Professor Snape sitting at the front of the crowd, a grim smile on his face. She caught sight of a huge scarlet banner with the slogan – LIONS FOR THE CUP imprinted in huge gold letters across it.

"And here are the Gryffindors!" Lee Jordan yelled, acting as commentator as usual; her father sitting in the stands behind him, wearing Gryffindor colours. Eve noted, with amusement, that Dumbledore had on a rather fetching set of magenta robes. "Potter, Bell, Johnson, Lupin, Weasley, Weasley and Wood! Widely acknowledged as the best side Hogwarts has seen for years!"

Eve watched as Oliver and Marcus Flint, the Slytherin captain, shook hands. The Slytherin Captain was going for size rather than skill for his line-up. Draco Malfoy was easily the smallest person on the team. Thankfully, the Gryffindor team had skill and speed and teamwork. Eve drew in a deep breath, narrowing her eyes, taking in the size of the Beaters and then the Chasers before setting her jaw and glancing over to her partners, Angelina and Katie, who nodded back to her.

"Mount your brooms!" Madam Hooch commanded and Eve slung her leg over her Comet 360, an expectant hush falling over the crowd. "Three – two – one!"

A shrill whistle and Eve kicked off, the air hitting her face and all of her nerves left her. It felt just like any other match.

"And they're off!" Lee yelled into his magical microphone. "Katie Bell of Gryffindor in possession of the Quaffle, heading straight for the Slytherin goalposts. Passes to Lupin; passes to Bell; looking good Katie! Argh – no! Quaffle intercepted by Warrington of Slytherin! Warrington tearing up the pitch! He's in the clear – OW!" A Bludger slammed into Warrington and the Quaffle dropped from his hands. Eve tore underneath him, catching it from the air, tucking it under her arm. "Nice Bludger work there by George Weasley. Warrington drops the Quaffle and Eve Lupin is in possession!"

She arched her broom around, ducked a Bludger that threatened to take her head off her shoulders, and she streamed up the pitch, her faithful broom serving her well. She threw the ball to Angelina, swinging around another Chaser, before catching the Quaffle quickly and feigning. She sent the Slytherin Keeper to the left whilst she threw it through the centre hoop, scoring the first goal of the game. She punched her fist into the air in triumph as the Gryffindor supporters roared, drowning out the hisses of the Slytherins.

"SHE SCORES! TEN-ZERO TO GRYFFINDOR!"

Eve was thrown from her broom when Marcus Flint crashed into her on purpose and she only just managed to hold onto her broom, George instantly flying to her aid whilst Fred hurled his Beater bat at the back of Flint's head, smashing it into the broom and making his nose bleed. George helped Eve back onto her broom and she smiled gratefully at him whilst making a rude sign at the back of Flint's bruised head. Katie took the penalty that had been given to Gryffindor and scored whilst Warrington's penalty was saved.

It was turning into the dirtiest match that Eve had ever played in. By the time that Oliver called a time out, Eve had a bloodied nose, a bruise on the side of her head, a broken finger and an aching leg. The rest of her team, with the exception of Harry, looked to be in just a bad state as she was. They got some liquid inside of them, refocused their attention, before they were back in the air. One of the Beaters, Bole, hit her around the head with his club, claiming that he thought she was a Bludger, in retaliation, Fred had elbowed him in the face. Derrick, the other Beater, very nearly knocked Harry from his broom before they both aimed their Bludgers at Oliver, hitting him in the stomach in an unprovoked attack.

The Gryffindor crowd were screaming below them as Eve put the Quaffle through the hoops again, making the score seventy-ten. If Harry caught the snitch soon, the cup would be theirs when she heard an excited roar and she turned. Harry had seen the snitch and he was racing towards it when Malfoy flung out his arm and caught hold of the end of Harry's Firebolt. The roar turned into an angry wave and Eve hurled the Quaffle at Malfoy's head but it was too late, Harry had lost sight of the snitch.

"Penalty! Penalty to Gryffindor!" Madam Hooch screeched, shooting towards Malfoy where he slid back onto his Nimbus Two Thousand and One. "I have never seen such tactics!"

"YOU CHEATING SCUM!" Lee Jordan howled into the microphone, Professor McGonagall angrily shaking her fist behind him, so angrily that her hat toppled off her head. "YOU FILTHY, CHEATING B–"

Eve took the penalty for Gryffindor, hitting the Keeper full in the face as she sent him and the Quaffle through the goal, venting some of her frustration and anger out on the Slytherin. They were losing their concentration. Malfoy's filthy tactic had knocked them all askew and they were slipping, much to the delight of the Slytherin crowd. It got dirtier and filthier and Eve seriously thought that someone was going to die before Harry was diving, speeding towards the ground, but Malfoy was ahead of him. She realised with a jolt that Harry had seen the snitch but Malfoy was going to get there first and she held her breath. Harry knocked Malfoy's arm out of the way and he was rising, rising, fist held in the air and she realised.

They had won.

A scream of delight left her mouth and she sped towards Harry, Oliver already there, sobbing into Harry's shoulder, and she flung her arms around him, chanting '_We won! We won!_' over and over again. She felt Fred and Katie slam into her back, laughing and crying and screaming and chanting as the team sank down to Earth hoarsely, tangled in a many armed hug, descending into a wave of crimson supporters. Hands were everywhere, congratulating them, pulling them apart and she had tears on her face, laughing ecstatically and delightedly as she leapt into her father's arms and kissed Hagrid's cheek, making him blush a ruby red, before Oliver was running to her, crushing his lips to hers in front of everyone and she had never been so delirious. She felt as though she was on top of the world.

Suddenly, she was lifted into the air by Gryffindor supporters and borne towards the stands where Dumbledore was waiting with the enormous silver Quidditch Cup. Oliver held it above his head in triumph, his face wet with tears, and the whole team was yelling out triumphantly as they stared out across the sea of scarlet, arms around each other, as they made off towards the common room together were there was a party waiting for them. She drank so much fire whiskey that she was seeing four of Fred and George Weasley, and two of them were bad enough.

"Oliver…what are you doing?" Eve slurred as Oliver pulled her onto her feet, _attempting_ to dance with her. She laughed and pushed his shoulder, only to spill him over onto an armchair, dragging her down with him. "You're drunk. Or daft. Probably daft."

"Mmm, you smell good." Oliver groaned, inhaling the scent of her neck and she laughed, kneeling awkwardly between his legs.

"I smell like sweat and fire whiskey." She grinned. "I smell like crap."

Her eyes started to feel heavy as his lips did things to her neck, making her tremble and bit her bottom lip. Whether it was the fire whiskey or the exhilaration of finally winning the Quidditch Cup, she glanced around and grabbed Oliver's hand, quickly dragging him out of the common room without anyone noticing and up to his room, which was mercifully empty. There was no finesse as they kissed each other, the alcohol in their system acting as a catalyst. It wasn't how she expected losing her virginity, on her captain's bed, in the seventh-year dormitory, alcohol in her system after winning the Quidditch Cup. It was painful, uncomfortable and Oliver passed out on her afterwards. She stared up at the ceiling in exasperation, closing her eyes and pushing his body from hers, straightening herself and leaving the room. No one had noticed that she had disappeared and she picked up another glass of fire whiskey, shooting it down her throat, slapping Harry on the back with a grin.

Oliver avoided her the next morning and, sore, Eve sighed in aggravation. He seemed skittish and nervous and couldn't look at her so she let him walk away. Thankfully, a week after the Quidditch Cup, which Eve was still riding high on, the exam season started and even Fred and George Weasley had opened their books for their O.W.Ls, even lowering themselves to such a level of desperation that they had sought her out for help with their Transfiguration revision. She hid her witty comments and sharp observations, patiently helping them, whilst studying for her own end of year exams, which she felt confidant about.

"Eve, stay behind, please." Her father requested at the end of one of her Defence lessons and she waved her friend on, smiling as she slipped her books into her bag, until the classroom had emptied out.

"Is everything okay?" Eve asked, doing the catch on her bag up as her father leant against the desk opposite her.

"I was going to ask you that." Remus replied and she looked at him curiously, mimicking his position on her own desk. "You've been…distracted." She looked surprised. "Not enough for anyone else to notice but enough for your father to. What's wrong? Is it…Oliver?" He looked a bit disgusted when he spoke his name.

"No, it's not." She answered, pulling her fingers through her hair. "Well…I guess. It's…I don't understand men."

"O…kay." He said, frowning in confusion. "Anything I can help with?"

"You can explain why Oliver is avoiding me." She sighed, dropping down onto the floor and sitting with her back against the wall. He slid down the wall next to her. She found sitting on the floor against the wall helped when she was having a crisis. They didn't happen often. His knees weren't made up for sitting on the floor anymore. "He hasn't spoken two words to me since we won the cup."

"Do you know why?" He asked and colour rose up into her pale cheeks and she pressed her lips together, looking down at her drawn up knees. He wasn't sure he wanted to know. She suddenly turned to him and burst into tears. Startled, his arms went around her out of instinct. "Sweetheart?"

"I'm an idiot." She choked into his chest, burying her face in his scratchy robes. "A complete and utter idiot."

"That's not something anyone could call you." He told her, pushing her hair behind her ear as she cried into his chest. "You can tell me anything, you know."

"Not this." She replied, her voice muffled by her tears and his chest. He rubbed between her shoulder blades soothingly. He squeezed his eyes shut, believing that he knew what had occurred between his daughter and her boyfriend. He didn't want to think about that.

"You can tell me about that, Evie." He replied, even though he really didn't want to know. There were times when a girl just needed her mother. He had never really had to double as both mother and father before; father had always been enough for her but, then again, she was getting older. "I'm…your father and I'm here for you. Even if you want to talk about _stuff_." She didn't say anything. "Eve, did you have sex with Oliver?"

She sobbed harder into his chest and he sighed sympathetically, wrapping his arms tighter around her, kissing the top of his head. She was growing up so damned fast. He had to curb the fatherly instinct to beat Oliver Wood into a painful, bloody pulp. She was old enough to make her own mistakes, however much he wanted to protect her from the world and everything in it. Still, he couldn't help remembering that her mother had been nearly six months pregnant with her when she was Eve's age. He prayed and prayed that she wouldn't make the same mistake as her mother. She had her _whole_ life ahead of her.

"It was the most painful, uncomfortable experience of my life." She groaned, her neck and cheeks alight with embarrassment and shame. "And now he won't even look at me. I feel so dirty."

"Oh, princess." He hadn't called her princess in so long and she curled up against his side, her sobs dying down and eventually falling silent and drying her eyes on his robes. "Whatever happened, it is not your fault. I can speak for men here…we're idiots. I was like this with your mother." She looked up at him with red, puffy eyes. He never spoke about when he had been with her mother. "A complete ass. It's definitely a male thing. Eventually, your mother grew tired of waiting to hear what she had done, which was nothing, and slapped me upside the head, telling me to get over myself."

"Charming." She smiled and he pressed a kiss to her forehead before she leant against him. "Do you think…do you think she thinks about me sometimes?"

"I think she'd be a fool not to." He replied honestly and she smiled sadly. "And it's her loss that she can't see what a beautiful, intelligent, brave young woman her daughter has turned into. I don't say it often enough but I'm proud of you. Of the woman that you're becoming. I have a truly wonderful daughter."

"And I have the best dad in the world." She grinned before they heard the classroom door opening and his third year class troop in. Eve pulled away from him.

"Oh, sorry, Professor Lupin!" Parvati Patil apologised, looking down at father and daughter, Lavender Brown on the other side of her.

"That's quite alright, Miss Patil." Remus replied smoothly as Eve got to her feet and pulled her father after her. He looked down at his daughter. "Are you going to be okay?"

"Yeah, course I am." Eve answered with a smile, the class filling in around them, and he ruffled her hair fondly. "Can I get a book from your office? I need it for my revision."

"Help yourself." He offered, brandishing a hand vaguely and she grinned at him, grabbing her bag and dancing up the stairs quickly, slipping into his office.

His office had the kind of messy look that Eve wished she could manage. He had a messy, organisational system that only made sense to him so she was careful not to touch anything. For a man who was so academic and intelligent, and _tidy_, his office was the exact opposite of him. The book that she wanted was on his bookshelf and she found it easily, turning around when something caught her eyes, sitting on his desk. She reached out and tugged it free. It was a blank piece of ragged parchment and her heart leapt when she realised that it was the infamous Marauders Map that she had heard so much about. Dropping everything, she removed her wand and pressed the tip to the parchment, murmuring the words that she knew so well.

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." She whispered, excitement coursing through her.

A map of Hogwarts bled into the parchment and she dropped into her father's chair, watching as it unfolded before her eyes. It was everything that her father had told her and more. She watched the tiny, miniature dots move about the classroom, most regulated to classrooms, the library or common rooms. Professor Dumbledore was pacing in his office slowly; Hagrid was in his hut with Peter Pettigrew; she grinned when she saw her father's name before her eyes returned slowly to Hagrid's hut and she realised, with certainty that Sirius Black was right. Grabbing a quill and a scrap of parchment, she scrawled out a loopy note and tossed the quill down, shoving the book into her back and clearing the map.

"Did you find it?" Remus asked as she descended the stairs quickly, turning away from his class momentarily, pausing in his stride, everyone's eyes turning to her.

"Er…yeah, I did, thanks." Eve grinned, the letter clasped in her hand as she moved swiftly from the classroom. "I'll talk to you later. I've got to send a letter. Love you!"

"You too." He replied confused, raising a hand at her sudden change in behaviour. He shook his head before returning to his lesson. "As I was saying…"

Eve ran to the Owlery, bowling over a tiny first year, and whistling for an owl to flutter down to her, attaching the letter to its leg and sending it off out of the window before checking her watch. If he was still in the area then it would take a maximum of half an hour before they could meet. She ran to the Gryffindor Common Room, flung her bag down on her bed, stripped out of her school uniform, flung a pale pink, flowery dress onto her body, shoved her feet into her trainers and left at a run. It was _shockingly_ easy to get out of Hogwarts through the secret passage and into Hogsmeade without anyone spotting her. She was halfway towards where she would be meeting him when an arm reached out abruptly and pulled her into an alleyway. Her first instinct was to fight when she recognised who was holding her.

"Are you thick?" Eve hissed at Sirius Black, who pulled her right to the end of the alley, behind a large bin that smelt questionable.

"Is that how you're going to greet me from now on?" He asked her, releasing her hand, her letter clasped in his dirty hand.

"You're assuming there's going to be more meetings between us." She replied without missing a beat. He looked at her, amused.

"You're the one who contacted me, darling." He replied, his voice just as hoarse as it had been when she first met him. "To what do I owe this sudden pleasure? Your letter was annoyingly vague."

"Ask nicely." Now that she knew he wasn't a mass murderer who wanted to kill or rape her but rather a man wrongfully imprisoned, she didn't mind teasing and taunting him. He stared at her in disbelief.

"Ask…?" He repeated quietly. "No!"

"Then I'm going back to the castle." She replied, stepping away from him but he grasped her wrist and pulled her back, looking as though he would very much like nothing more than to physically harm her but that time had passed.

"_Please_?" He growled at her, voice rough like sandpaper and she grinned at him, her eyes sparkling as she drew the words out.

"I know where Peter Pettigrew is." She drawled slowly, enunciating each word and his whole body, face and demeanour changed. He leant against the wall, his arms blocking her in.

"You'd best not be joking, girl." He warned her and she raised her eyebrow, not in the least bit intimidated by him…anymore.

"I don't enjoy illicit meetings with escaped convicts." She replied coolly. "So why on Earth would I risk expulsion, jail and Dementors for a joke? Get over yourself, Black, you're not that important."

"Whilst clearly you have an abundance of self-importance." He shot back without missing a beat. Azkaban hadn't lessened his sharp comebacks. It came back naturally. "So, _Eve_, where's Pettigrew?"

"Hagrid's hut." She replied and so many emotions passed across his face that she started to feel dizzy. It was only when he began to move away from her that she realised what he was doing. "Oi, Black! You can't go after him!"

"Did you miss the reason I escaped that hell hole?" He asked sarcastically, trying to pull his wrist from her grasp but her strength once again prevailed. "Lupin."

"Black." Eve said, tugging him back to her. "Listen to me carefully because I don't talk for my health. If you go barging into Hagrid's hut in the middle of the day, just what do you think is going to happen? He'll make a run for it and I would pay good money to see a dog try and catch a rat. You wait for the opportune moment. Understood?"

"Since when did you start telling me what to do?" Black asked her with a growl and her lips curled up towards her eyes mockingly.

"Since I have the power to set you free." She replied, pressing her finger into his chest and pushing him back against the opposite wall. "And since I'm the only friend you have at the moment. Opportune. Moment. Keep close but don't let dad see you. He thinks you've Confounded me."

"It's tempting." He commented dryly and she grinned back at him easily. He looked at her appraisingly. "You still with that boyfriend of yours?" Her eyes slid away from his. "Trouble in paradise?"

"Don't make me hit you." Eve replied with a scowl. "I would hate to bruise my fist on someone like you."

"You are so different to Remus." He laughed, an odd, rough, strangled sound coming from his throat. "A good different. For it's worth, love, if there is trouble in paradise, he isn't worth it."

"Wow, love advice from a criminal." She replied, tipping her head to the side with a genuine smile. "There's something that's never happened before. Thanks for the advice, Black, heed mine. I've got to get back."

"Next time you want an _illicit_ meeting," he drawled and she looked amused, "bring some food." She arched an eyebrow. "Please."

"I'll try." Eve said before pushing him away from her firmly. She brushed herself down and shook her hair out. He watched her chocolate curls bounce and sway. "Don't do anything stupid, Black."

She walked away without looking back and Black ran a hand over his gaunt face. She was draining on his strength but he felt alive in her presence, possibly because she was the only one in the entire world who wouldn't hand him over to the Dementors…anymore and she was the only one who knew the truth about him. Still…he wondered how Remus could produce such a beautiful daughter.

"Shit."

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

_There's going to be more of Oliver in a sequel to explain his behaviour._

_Please review ___

_Kate_


	9. Chapter 9

Everything seemed to happen all at once. One moment, Eve was walking through the dark corridors of Hogwarts to visit her father in his office to make sure that he had taken his potion, the next she was looking at the open Marauders Map on his desk and saw the Black had chosen his opportune moment. She saw Severus Snape's dot moving hurriedly towards the Shrieking Shack where her father, Black, Ron, Harry, Hermione and Peter Pettigrew were located. She looked to the steaming goblet full of her father's potion and fear ripped through her.

The next moment, she was streaming across the darkening grounds of Hogwarts and flinging herself beneath the Whomping Willow, landing painfully on her stomach. She lay there, wincing, attempting to catch her breath before the sounds of shouting came from up above her head. She had never been inside the Shrieking Shack. Her father had forbidden her to enter the building and she had always respected that but she didn't have that luxury anymore. She vaulted up the stairs and flung open the door to see Sirius Black bound on the floor by tight ropes and her father with a wand held to his chest by Professor Snape.

"_Stupefy!_" She exclaimed and a jet of red light shot from the end of her wand, connecting with Snape's shoulder and he slumped to the ground. "Dad!"

"Eve, what the –?" He began in confusion as she waved her wand at Black, murmuring a spell beneath her breath and the ropes fell away from him. She let him pick himself up.

"I've wanted to do _that_ for a long time." She grinned, nodding to Snape's unconscious form before looking to Harry, Ron and Hermione. "Are you three okay?"

"Yeah, yeah we're fine." Harry replied, looking relieved that she was there, pointing to Black, who was back on his feet. "Eve, he's –"

"I know, Harry." She smiled reassuringly before turning and staring at Black. "Opportune moment?"

"You weren't doing anything." Black grumbled in a low voice and she shot him a sarcastic smile before looking around.

"What have I missed?" She asked and Harry's lips twitched in almost amusement. "Where is he?"

"There." Black pointed at Ron, who pressed himself tightly against the wall, holding his pet rat to his chest tightly.

"Ron, may I have Scabbers, please?" Eve asked politely, holding out her hand and stowing her wand into the back pocket of her jeans, approaching her housemate. He hesitated, eyes flicking to Black behind her. "I won't let any harm come to him if he is a rat. You can trust me, right?"

Displaying a great amount of trust, Ron held Scabbers shakily towards her and she quickly grasped hold of the rat, which was squeaking without stopping, its black eyes bulging as it tried to escape from Eve's firm grip. She turned around and looked to her father and Black, who had retrieved Snape's wand, an ugly look on his face as he looked at the rat in Eve's hands. She held her arms stretched out before her and met her father's eyes, nodding.

"Ready, Sirius?" Remus asked and Black just approached Eve and the struggling rat. "On the count of three. One – two – THREE!"

A flash of blue-white light fled from both of their wands and impacted with Scabbers in Eve's hands and she let go of him, twisting and shaking, falling to the floor with a heavy thud and Eve stepped back quickly, arms holding Harry and Hermione behind her, watching in fascination, as the rat seemed to grow. It was like watching a sped-up film of a growing tree as the rat grew and stretched, filling out until, standing before them, stood a short, fat balding man, cringing and wringing his hands. The breath left her throat in stunned surprise. It was all real.

"Hello, Peter." Remus said pleasantly, as though old school friends erupted into people around him all the time, his wand held calmly before him. "Long time, no see."

"S-Sirius…R-Remus…my friends…my old friends." Pettigrew replied, his voice high and squeaky, wringing his hands painfully. Black's wand arm rose but Remus circled his fingers around his friend's wrist, pushing it back down, continuing to talk to Pettigrew.

"We've been having a little chat, Peter, about the night James and Lily died." Remus continued, his voice light and casual. It was almost scary seeing her father like that. "You might have missed the finer points whilst you were squeaking around down there on the bed –"

"Remus," Pettigrew gasped and beads of sweat were dancing across his pudgy, terrified face. "You don't believe him, do you? He tried to kill me, Remus…"

"So we've heard." Remus said coldly. "I'd like to clear up one or two matters with you, Peter, so if you'd be so kind…"

"He's come to try and kill me again!" Pettigrew suddenly shrieked, pointing at Black, using his middle finger to point as his index finger was missing. "He killed Lily and James and he's now going to kill me, too…Remus, you have to help me…"

"No one's going to try and kill you until we've sorted a few things out." Her father replied calmly, Black's face looking more skull-like as he stared at Pettigrew with fathomless eyes.

"Sorted things out!" The rat squealed, looking wildly around the room, taking in the boarded windows and the only door. "I knew he'd come back! I knew he'd try and kill me!"

"You knew he would break out of Azkaban?" Eve asked quietly and Pettigrew's head snapped around to her. "Even when no one's done it before?"

"He's got Dark Powers the rest of us can only dream of!" Pettigrew exclaimed, approaching her, believing that he could sway her to his side. She merely raised her wand and arched an eyebrow, stilling him in his tracks, her hand tightening on Harry, keeping him firmly behind her.

"When would anybody dream of having Dark Powers?" She asked him steadily. "Unless you want to be like Voldemort." Pettigrew flinched as though she had brandished a whip and Black let out an empty, mirthless laugh.

"What? Scared to hear your old master's name?" Black asked cruelly, speaking for the first time since Pettigrew had appeared before them. "I don't blame you, Peter. His lot aren't very happy with you, are they?"

"Don't know – what you mean, Sirius –" Pettigrew muttered, breathing faster than ever, his face shining with sweat.

"You haven't been hiding from _me_ for twelve years." Black laughed mirthlessly. "You've been hiding from Voldemort's old supporters. I head things in Azkaban, Peter…they all think you're dead, or you'd have to answer to them…I've heard them screaming all sorts of things in their sleep. Sounds like they think the double-crosser double-crossed them. Voldemort went to the Potters' on you information…and Voldemort met his downfall there. And not all Voldemort's supporters ended up in Azkaban, did they? There are still plenty out here, biding their time, pretending they've seen the error of they ways. If they ever got wind that you were still alive, Peter –"

The conversation moved back and forth between accusations and pleading. It was almost painful to watch. Her father, calm, cool and collected but she could always tell when he was angry and he was angrier than she had ever imagined him being, his eyes fixed on Pettigrew. Black made no attempt to hide his anger, disgust and contempt at the man before him and Eve was certain that if he had been alone with him, he would have killed the rat in an instant. Pettigrew was, by far, the most pathetic looking. Eve assumed that he would start crying soon and she felt a pang of pity in her stomach before she squashed it down firmly. He didn't deserve her pity. Black looked to Harry, her own head spinning, a tender look of affection deep within his haunted eyes.

"Believe me," he croaked, "believe me. I never betrayed James and Lily, I would have died before I betrayed them."

"I believe you." Harry's voice was barely above a whisper but it evidently meant the world to Black, whose body shook with relief and emotions that Eve didn't think had a name.

"NO!" Pettigrew exclaimed, falling to his knees, as though Harry's words had been his own death sentence and he shuffled forward on his knees, grovelling. Eve heard Hermione draw in a sharp breath and she felt the younger girl press her face into her back, blocking the situation out of her mind.

"Sirius – it's me…it's Peter…your friend…you wouldn't…" he grovelled, his hands clasped in front of him as though praying. Black kicked out and the grovelling man recoiled.

"There's enough filth on my robes without you touching them." Black growled dangerously and tears welled up in Pettigrew's watery blue eyes.

"Remus!" He squeaked, turning to her father instead, writhing imploringly in front of him. "You don't believe this…wouldn't Sirius have told you they'd changed the plan?"

"Not if he thought I was the spy, Peter." Remus replied, looking over to Black. "I assume that's why you didn't tell me, Sirius?"

"Forgive me, Remus." Black said with a small bow of his head and a smile touched at the corner of her father's lips.

"Not at all, Padfoot, old friend." Remus replied, rolling up his sleeves. "And will you, in turn, forgive me for believing _you_ were the spy?"

"Of course." He answered, the ghost of a grin flitted across his gaunt face. He began rolling up his sleeves as well. "Shall we kill him together?"

"Yes, I think so." Her father replied grimly and she felt cold inside. She was about to watch her father become a murderer and she wasn't sure whether they were going down the right path.

"Ron…haven't I been a good friend…a good pet?" Pettigrew gasped, scrambling around to Ron, who stared at him with the utmost revulsion. "You won't let them kill me, Ron, will you…you're on my side, aren't you?"

"I let you sleep in my bed!" He choked, looking as though he would very much like to throw up. He kicked out with his good leg, pushing him away from his body, shaking.

"Sweet girl…clever girl…" he stumbled towards Hermione, seizing the hem of her robes but Eve pulled Hermione safely away from him, tears on her cheeks as she pressed her back against the wall, looking horrified. He looked up at Eve and grabbed her leg, a strangled cry sweeping from her mouth. "Eve…beautiful Eve…don't let them hurt me…"

"Get off me." She growled, the wolf side of her shining through. "Before I save them the trouble." She pushed him firmly away from her and Pettigrew knelt, trembling uncontrollably, and turned his head slowly towards Harry. She stretched out her hand towards Harry. "Come here, Harry."

"This is wrong." Harry murmured, taking hold of Eve's hand and moving to her side, moving around Pettigrew, not giving the man a chance to beg and plead from him.

"Hermione, get Ron up." Eve said quietly. "We're leaving." Her father's eyes flicked to hers and he nodded briefly, understanding what she was doing.

"No!" Harry suddenly exclaimed, tearing his hand from hers and flinging himself in front of Pettigrew. "You can't kill him. You can't." Both Remus and Black look staggered.

"Harry, this piece of vermin is the reason you have no parents." Black snarled. "He would have seen you die, too, without turning a hair."

"I know." He replied quietly. "But we'll take him up to the castle. The Dementors can have him. I don't reckon that my dad would want his two best friends to become a murderer because of him."

"No, please, no, not the Dementors." Pettigrew sobbed, scrambling to his feet with wild-eyes, moving past Harry, tripping over his feet.

As he fell, he reached out to prevent himself from falling and caught Eve. She jolted from his grasp, as though electrocuted, and she arched back, her feet sliding on the dust ladened floor, falling back as though in slow motion. She saw the world rising sharply up before her eyes before she hit the ground, her body uncurling, wand falling from her hand as she rolled back, the back of her head connecting sharply with a broken piece of wood. She groaned, her eyes widening before they closed slowly, the black darkness of unconsciousness sweeping over her.

"Eve!" Remus exclaimed, waving his wand and binding Pettigrew as he shot forwards, crouching by his daughter. Her face was peaceful as though sleeping and he gently cradled her head. She was bleeding from the back of her head but her pulse was strong. "Oh, God, you get into some scrapes, sweetheart."

"Is she okay?" Black asked with a croaked voice and Remus glanced around, spotting the look of brief concern in his friend's eyes. Eve had been meeting with him. He knew that much. It warmed his heart that his only remaining friend cared for his daughter.

"Just unconscious." He replied and Black walked forwards slowly, crouching down and easily lifting Eve into his arms.

"You take Pettigrew." He croaked, straightening up as though Eve was no weight at all. "I'll look after her."

Then, the group set off, Ron and Remus chained to Pettigrew to make sure that he didn't escape; Harry and Hermione taking the lead with Black carrying an unconscious Eve in his arms whilst Remus levitated an unconscious Snape out of the castle. There had never been a stranger group ever before.


	10. Chapter 10

Epilogue

_Dear Eve,_

_It feels bizarre to be addressing you as a friend when all of the conversations that we have had have been focused on one thing but, you have helped me, and I do consider you a friend, not just because of who your father is. I don't quite know how to thank you for everything that you've done for me but I would like to apologise for all the times that I have hurt you. I owe you everything. You didn't have to take a risk on me but you did and I'll never forget that._

_I'm sorry that you were unconscious for the latter part of the evening. I wanted to see you one last time before the Dementors came for me, which fortunately did not happen due to Harry and his friend, Hermione – I think. I still wanted to see you again; I don't know when I'll be able to see you or the old man again. I won't ever forget what you've done for me. Thank you for everything._

_Padfoot_

P.S Thank you for looking out for Harry. It's obvious that you care for him.

Eve folded the letter up and slid it into her favourite book, closing her trunk, flicking the locks shut. Her dormitory mates had taken one look at her when she had entered and made a quick exit. Her father's lycanthropy was now public knowledge, thanks to Professor Snape's loose tongue, and he had been forced to leave Hogwarts. There was divided opinion on her father. The Slytherins had, typically, taken advantage of the news; Hufflepuffs decided that they couldn't care less and had told her that they would miss him; Ravenclaws weighed up both sides of the position and were almost split down the middle. Most Gryffindors couldn't care about his lycanthropy as he had been the best teacher that they had ever had but there were still a few.

"Hey, Eve." Harry greeted as she descended the stairs, leaving her trunk up in her room, ready for the train home. She slipped into the seat next to him and smiled.

"How's your dad?" Hermione asked, closing the book that she was reading to look up at her from her position on the floor.

"He's good." Eve answered, brushing her long hair from her eyes. "He's back home. I think Padfoot's staying with him for a while. Disappointed, obviously, he really loved this job. He was made for teaching."

"What's he going to do now?" The younger witch continued and Eve shrugged, absently messing up the back of Harry's hair further.

"Find another job." She replied, picking at her frayed denim skirt. "Make ends meet. It'll just go back to normal." She watched as Nancy Attais walked past her, ignoring her, with a pale face. "Well, almost normal."

"We heard what you did to Snape." Ron said, staring at the chessboard in front of him, playing against himself as no one else was competition for him. "How much trouble did you get into?"

"There was talk of suspension." She answered lazily, leaning back. "McGonagall was furious but Dumbledore dealt with it in the end. Detention, no point taken, thankfully, I had to apologise to him…"

"That's the worst punishment." Harry scowled and she grinned good-naturedly at him.

When Snape had opened his mouth and let slip that her father was a werewolf at the Slytherin table at breakfast, Eve had been furious. After her father had left Hogwarts, she had let her anger get the better of her and she had forgone her magic and attacked the Head of Slytherin house physically. If someone hadn't pulled her off of him, she may have actually killed him. He was hospitalised for the night and immediately began demanding her expulsion. Dumbledore had been forced to give her a punishment, as he couldn't be seen condoning a student attacking a teacher but he understood. He was quite angry with his Potions master as well.

"It's been some year." Harry sighed, leaning back and matching Eve's position on the crimson sofa.

"Still, at least you've found some family." Eve said and he looked to her before smiling, as though he hadn't thought of that before.

"Yeah, I guess I have." He replied and Eve tilted her head back, sliding down the sofa and closing her eyes.

Like Harry said, it had been some year.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

I hope you all enjoyed this. There may be a sequel. It all depends on whether I can motivate myself to write it.

_Drop me a line to let me know if you like it._

_Kate_

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